"We nurses have to empower the family and rely on their experience for patient care," said Professor Ana Canga at the University of Navarra. Together with Nuria Esandi and other researchers from the School of Nursing, she participated in the XIII International Family Nursing congress organized by the academic center together with the International Family Nursing Association (IFNA). This meeting, which was held at the University of Navarra Museum, brought together for the first time in Spain around 350 specialists from 30 countries.

According to the expert, the empowerment of the family represents a paradigm shift with respect to the relationship that professionals currently maintain with the people close to each patient: "We are moving from a solely biomedical approach centered on pathology and paternalistic -which only takes into account the opinion of the healthcare professional- to another where the center is the family with its values, beliefs and resources".

"Each family is unique and knowing them means helping them more effectively. It is necessary to take their opinion into account, focus on their strengths and work with them," says Ana Canga. This implies a therapeutic alliance where the nurse acts as guide and financial aid to help the family to adapt to this status, to access and control resources, to have communication skills".

Researchers at the University of Navarra are working on this new model focused on the "sustainable family caregiver", which consists of offering tools to care for the sick patient but at the same time, continue with their family life, without causing crises.

Hidden patients

"Most of the chronically ill and the dependent and elderly are cared for by the informal system, the family, by the "iceberg of healthcare," he explains. However, today's nursing focuses primarily on the pathology, on the patient, and forgets the context. "They are the hidden patients. That is why our goal is to work with the family as a unit of care. A practically novel approach in Spain, since healthcare is centered on the patient or the main caregiver."

In this way, the School of Nursing has launched several subjects, core and elective, both in the Degree and in the Master's Degree, as well as a line of doctorate and a program of research, which will be implemented in the Clínica Universidad de Navarra.