Desafios do cuidado a pessoas surdas vivenciados por familiares ouvintes: estudo exploratório

Objective: to identify the difficulties experienced by hearing family members in relation to caring for the health of deaf people. Method: exploratory, qualitative study, conducted in June 2018, with six family members of deaf people. Data were collected in the participants' homes, by means of semi-structured interviews which were later submitted to content analysis. Results: the relationship between the deaf person and the family is influenced by the communication strategies used. The main reported difficulty was the effective establishment of communication between health professionals and the deaf person. Although, the family is an indispensable “resource” which helps to overcome this difficulty, they are not always able to express the exact symptoms experienced by the family member. Conclusion: Hearing family members accompany their deaf family members in most visits to health services, due to the absence of professionals who communicate in Libras, and health care is compromised for family members who do not communicate in Libras which causes insecurity.