Abstract
To understand the meanings of cancer within the experience of rural families and how such meanings influence family dynamics. Qualitative study guided by Symbolic Interactionism as a theoretical framework and Grounded Theory as a methodological framework. Six rural families (18 participants) undergoing the experience of having a relative with cancer participated in the interview. Constant comparative analysis of data allowed the elaboration of an explanatory substantive theory, defined by the main category Caregiving to support the family world, which represents the family's symbolic actions and strategies to reconcile care for the patient and care for family life. Throughout the experience, rural families seek to preserve the interconnected symbolic elements that provide support for the family world: family unit, land, work and care.
Highlights
Illness is one of the events in the development of family life that interfere with homeostasis, destabilize family dynamics and cause suffering among its members[1,2]
Dynamics relates to family living, i.e., to the way individuals interact and bond with one another in everyday life, allowing family life to function in a harmonious way[3]
The model presented derives from the experience of the rural family in the face of one of its members being affected by cancer, and, based on the perspective of Symbolic Interactionism, portrays the family experience as a dynamic and systemic process in which all members play a continuous and active role, which complements the model developed in relation to the experience of illness by presenting an element that tries to explain how the family functions in the context of illness[20]
Summary
Illness is one of the events in the development of family life that interfere with homeostasis, destabilize family dynamics and cause suffering among its members[1,2]. Dynamics relates to family living, i.e., to the way individuals interact and bond with one another in everyday life, allowing family life to function in a harmonious way[3] This dimension includes the instrumental domain of daily life activities and the expressive or affective domain, related to the roles played by each member and to problem-solving[1]. It involves relationships of collaboration, exchange, power and conflict among family members, permeated by openness to communication, affection and cohesion of the family group[1,3]. In order to access family dynamics, it is necessary to understand the systemic interactional patterns developed in the face of events that generate problems, since these correspond to the behavioral mode with which the family group responds to everyday events over time[1]
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