Technology-dependent children and the demand for pharmaceutical care.

OBJECTIVE: to understand the experience of mothers of technology-dependent children as regards pharmaceutical care.

METHOD: this was a qualitative, descriptive-exploratory study developed based on open interviews using a structured characterization tool, and applied during home visits to 12 mothers caring for technology-dependent children. The data was submitted to inductive content analysis.

RESULTS: this study is split into two themes: (i) maternal overload during pharmaceutical care, demonstrating the need to administer drugs continuously and the repercussions of this exhaustive care on the caregivers; (ii) the ease or difficulty of access to the medicines required, showing informal strategies and support networks.

CONCLUSION: pharmaceutical care is a daily challenge expressed in maternal overload and difficulty accessing the drugs, made worse by failures in the care network and coordinated care.