title: Family caregivers articulating the social network of a child with special health care needs.
abstract: In Brazil, studies rarely address the social network of a child with special health care needs (CSHCN).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  the study sought to characterize the social network of the child and analyze the role of the family in its creation.
  
  
  METHODS
  a qualitative approach was developed through five dynamics (Speaking Map) based on the creative sensitive method, with five groups of families (12 participants) in their homes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  the critical discourse analysis of the caregivers (grandparents, siblings and neighbors) showed that the mother plays the main role in articulating the social network, with its points being linked by the hospital, primary and rehabilitation care, household, school, etc. Familial care becomes more visible at home and within the community.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  with the insufficient public policy that articulating healthcare facilities for CSHCN in the community, family members shape a social network characterized by a dense and fluid mesh.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Enfermagem Materno Infantil, Escola de Enfermagem Anna Nery, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
authors.forename: Ivone Evangelista
authors.initials: IE
authors.lastname: Cabral
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Enfermagem Materno Infantil, Escola de Enfermagem Anna Nery, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
authors.forename: Juliana Rezende Montenegro Medeiros
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: de Moraes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil; D017028:Caregivers; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012944:Social Support