Social representations of the professionals from the health family teams of São Carlos city about the Down Syndrome

• Grant number: 07/04443-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2007
• End date: November 30, 2008
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Maternal and Child Health
• Principal Investigator: Débora Gusmão Melo
• Grantee: César Seiji Setoue
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Trisomy of chromosome 21 that causes Down Syndrome is the commonest chromosome aneuploidy among newborns. It is also one of the most frequent causes of intellectual disability and constitutes the most observed congenital abnormality in pediatric age group. The Down Syndrome phenomenon mobilizes a complex of relations of meaning of individual, family and collective reach that can only be understood by contextualizing the bio-psycho-social aspects that cause them. This study mainly aims to identify the social representations of different practitioners of São Carlos city family care teams concerning Down Syndrome, as well as analyzing how these representations have guided their clinical practices towards Down Syndrome-affected individuals and their families. The selected professionals will be interviewed in depth in accordance with a previously set agenda that consists of open questions contemplating the phenomenon of Down Syndrome through the following subjects: etiology, diagnosis, clinical picture, prognostic, family genetic counseling, formation of ties to the Units of Family Health, and health needs. The thematic content analysis methodology will be used to evaluate the answers to the half-structured script. From this perspective, the selected key subjects are considered fundamental as they are closely articulated in a complex and dynamic net of social representations related to Down Syndrome.