Descripción
Depression is currently a major public health problem. It is important to understand disease's associated factors that may interfere with the establishment of the framework and maintenance of their symptoms. Elaborate interventions focusing on prevention and promotion of quality of life can be a valuable work strategy in the public health sector. In this sense, the goal of this study was to investigate the family support of patients diagnosed with depression in a town from Vale do Caí, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. To collect data, a survey of medical records of patients who were cared by the municipal health service was done to identify families with members diagnosed with depression and who were taking psychiatric medication. The patients were divided by stage of life cycle and it was identified that the phase of life with higher incidence of the disease is the elderly. Three participants were chosen by chance from those of this group to perform a qualitative analysis. The results showed that patients with depression notice the family as able to offer family support needed to face the disease which has been of particular importance for maintaining mental health of these people.
