Gomes, Giovana Calcagno.

Objectives: to understand the meanings assigned by family caregivers about children's chronic disease diagnosis

Methods: qualitative study, which used as theoretical framework the Symbolic Interactionism, and methodological, the Grounded Theory. It was held in a pediatric unit in Southern Brazil, in 2016, through interviews submitted to open and axial analysis, with the participation of 20 family caregivers of hospitalized children.