[Fear of child/family in pediatric intensive care units: what is the nurse's role?].

The fear is considered a negative emotion, lived with apprehension, uncertainty and a sense of threat or danger to the personal integrity (Torres & Guerra, 2003). It is often associated with hospitalization of the chid/family, and may be the cause to start an emotional crisis due to the separation from environment and the usual routines, the loss of independence and autonomy, and also due to be with strange people (Bicho, 2006; Festas 1994; Freitas F Hockenberry, 2006). Hospitalization in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) may worsen an already existing crisis not only for the given reasons but also because the child may be in life danger. The environment "aggressive"and stressant characteristic of these units also contributes to this situation. To minimize the fear and his negative effects, the nurse has an important role to play. Because of his/her activities and function he/she is the closest health care professional to the child/family, and therefore in a better position to establish a relationship of trust and empathy that will minimize such effects, as well as to the interventions best suited to achieve this objective.