Bladder-Bowel Dysfunction in Children: Consequences, Risk Factors and Recommendations for Primary Care Interventions

Family experience of living with children and adolescents with bladder and bowel dysfunction

OBJECTIVE

to understand the experience of families of living with children and adolescents with bladder and bowel dysfunction.

METHODS

a qualitative phenomenological interpretive research carried out through an in-depth open interview with parents of children and adolescents linked to Advanced Practice Nursing clinic in pediatric urology.

RESULTS

the following representative categories of the families' experiences emerged: Knowledge and learning: building family knowledge; Living with the children's BBD: symbolic representations; Management and adaptation to the children's BBD: reorganizing family life.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

the experience of families related to positive and negative meanings, presence or absence of previous experiences, information gaps, learning process and access to specialized professional follow-up. Follow-up by nurses is important in pediatric urology care for the learning and consolidation of specific knowledge about bladder and bowel dysfunction.