<b>The authentic care to the individual with diabetic foot under the heideggerian focus</b> - DOI: 10.4025/cienccuidsaude.v8i4.9665

Abstract

This research had the purpose to present one of the emerged spheres of the master's degree dissertation, the “Being-here” and the authentic care. Heidegger’s existential phenomenology foregrounds the understanding of the lives of such people. Eight persons from the northern region of Paraná State/Brazil, were interviewed at their homes between February and August 2007. The following guiding question was asked: For you, what is living with a Diabetes mellitus-caused foot condition? At the end of each interview, the main feelings in the person’s discourse were underlined. The following existential theme emerged: “Being-here and authentic care”. Results reveal that for people with such foot conditions care must express a harmonic living in which each being shares his/her thoughts and feelings in a mutual process and in which speaking and listening are the real type of care. Through the discourse used, it may be understood that the family reveals itself to be the authentic caretaker, sharing with the patients the facticity of the treatment, and seeking ways to relieve their sufferings. In the context of the possibility of losing a part of their body, the patients are touched by the affection given to them by their family.