With the intention of understanding how the support network of the families of children admitted in a hospital Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is established, and its importance in the life of their relatives, a descriptive study with qualitative approach was carried out with 21 parents of children admitted in a PICU of a University Hospital located in the northwest area of Paraná State. It was observed that, the support network to the families was made of a mixed of affectivity, faith and solidarity as the fundamental components to relieve the suffering and out-of-hospital support. The study also showed, that the work with families should be permeated by the special attention to the peculiarities that surround each family context and its relationships, what ratifies the importance of a more comprehensive performance of nursing, better understanding the multiple influences of the different configurations of the family and social support network on the quality and effectiveness of the implemented interventions.
Family; Social support; Life changes events; Pediatric nursing