Estimulação visual : prática educativa com mães na enfermaria mãe-canguru

Abstract

The lack of knowledge on the part of mothers about their children’s ocular health is a common denominator found when they are asked about this theme, mainly concerning the visual stimulation, which is a component of significant value to the newborn babies’ ocular health. Thus, one aimed to apply a handbook highlighting the visual stimulation for mothers of children with risk to visual alterations and to validate material and method for education and health applied to visual stimulation of premature children and/or with risks to visual alterations. Data collection was carried out from April to June, 2005 in three methodological moments. On the first moment, the handbook was analyzed by three experts, on the second one, the handbook was reformulated starting from the suggestions and on the third moment the handbook was applied to the mothers admitted to the kangaroo-mother ward, with record of interviews where the items of evaluation were approached after the reading of the handbook. The data were described according to Bardin (1977) and Nietsche(2000). Referring to the first moment, one suggested changes in the handbook’s back page, with the complete identification of the authors, addition of an item about the obstetric history and another about signs and symptoms of visual alterations; change of a drawing that was over the text making it difficult to read; emphasis on the topic about the participation of parents on the promotion of ocular health to their children; update on the literature; and enlargement of the material created for all the children with risks to visual alterations, not only the premature ones. Next, one carried out the second methodological moment, with the corrections suggested by the experts, being all obeyed. After the thematic analysis of the 12 interviews, one identified four themes: Perception of the handbook, Knowledge of mothers about ocular health, Handbook’s structure and Promotion of the ocular health. We concluded that the handbook facilitated the learning about visual stimulation, as well as it will make that the visual deficit, in case it appears, is noticed as precocious as possible, in the family life. Besides encouraging the stimulation at home as an indispensable factor to the development of the child, be it premature or not. By mentioning the components contemplated by the emancipatory technology, to know: the exercise of critical conscience, citizenship, freedom and autonomy; we affirm that each one of them was present at the application of the handbook about visual stimulation, what makes the handbook, as well as the practice together with the mothers as emancipatory technology.