ATTENTION NETWORKS AND HEALTH CARE PRACTICES FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH CHRONIC DISEASES IN TIMES OF COVID-19

Abstract

It aims to identify the care practices and supports performed to chronic conditions in children and adolescents in the Health Care Network (SAN). This is a descriptive study with a mixed approach, conducted from April to August 2021, at the reception of the outpatient clinics of a tertiary pediatric hospital in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Fifty children and adolescents participated, as well as their guardians, chosen randomly, non-probabilistically, and in person. Inclusion criteria were: children and adolescents, both genders, from 5 to 18 years of age, with a diagnosis of chronic disease, being followed up or treated at the hospital where the research was being carried out. An interview form was used as an instrument. For analysis, the data were treated by Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis. The majority were female, students of the Elementary School II, coming from the countryside of Ceará and had a mean age of 11.8 years. Of the chronic diseases, the prevalent one was cancer and all were accompanied in the reference hospital by the mother. In the pandemic, it was evident the presence of clinical manifestations among the participants, sometimes with the need to seek services in the RAS, such as medical consultation in tertiary care. It is concluded that in the search for care supports carried out in the RAS, there were difficulties of access, impairment in the continuity of care of children and adolescents with chronic diseases.