PEREIRA, Sylvia M. P.    CARDOSO, Maria H. C. de A.. The metodology used in studies about repercussions of prematurity in the history of a family. Rev. bras. crescimento desenvolv. hum. []. 2005, 15, 3, pp.74-83. ISSN 0104-1282.

The objective of this study was to review how the literature focus impact of prematurity on the family and, at long-term, the impact on the child. We did so mainly focalizing the methodology used and the authors' area of work. The review was based on Medline and LILACS databases using the key-words: "premature, family"; "intensive care unit, neonatal"; "quality of life"; "qualitative research". Articles were selected from medical areas like Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Psychosocial Medicine and from other areas like Nursing and Human Sciences, published in the languages English, Spanish and Portuguese, within the last ten years and articles identified from the bibliographic references in the first articles. Postgraduate theses with most relevant information were gathered. Eleven articles were reviewed which employed quantitative methodology: structured and semi-structured interviews, approached by statistics tests like frequency distribution, chi-squared, logistic regression, covariance, and six studies, two postgraduate theses and four articles which have used qualitative methodology like not-structured interview, focus group interview, life history and participant-observation, approached by phenomenology, phenomenologic-hermeneutic method and thematic analysis. It was concluded that mostly studies boarding the impact of prematurity on the family use quantitative methodology in the area of Medicine, mostly Neonatology and Psychiatry. Qualitative methodology begins to be applied to these studies, mainly by professionals from other areas that Medicine. New research is necessary for the physicians, specially for Neonatologists to learn the specificity of qualitative methodology in generating meaningful information for studies about prematurity and family.

: Premature; Family; Intensive care unit; Neonatal; Quality of life; Qualitative research.

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