Abstract

REISINHO, Maria da Conceição  and  GOMES, Bárbara. The teenager withcystic fibrosis: Grow in difference. Revista Portuguesa de Enfermagem de Saúde Mental [online]. 2016, n.spe3, pp.85-94. ISSN 1647-2160.  https://doi.org/10.19131/rpesm.0123.

BACKGROUND: Adolescence is a period of life when the physical and psychosocial development is connected with developmental tasks of changes in behavior and attitudes. When joined together with a chronic illness, the teenager's life structure requires an upgrade and new coping strategies for the upcoming situation. This process involves the acquisition of new knowledge by the teenager and a redefinition of his/her life and his/her personality. AIM: The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences of adolescents with cystic fibrosis. METHODS: Implanted in a qualitative research paradigm, we adopted the Meleis’ Theory of Transitions (2010) as a theoretic referential and the methodology of the Grounded Theory for data analysis. 16 adolescents with CF were interviewed, previously selected by the "snowball" technique. RESULTS & CONCLUSION: With the obtained results we highlight the rise of what we believe to be an awareness behavior during the health/illness process, which according to the Meleis’ Theory (2010) is crucial for the adolescent as it allows him/her to experience changes and adopt accommodation promoting-like behaviors to this new life style in order to improve the quality of life.

Keywords : Adolescents; Cystic fibrosis; Mental health.

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