[The process of caring for burned patients: cultural significance attributed by relatives]

This study aimed at investigating the cultural meanings attributed by relatives to their participation in the process of delivering care to burned people; identifying the care strategies focused on by relatives during their participation in the care process. Data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews with 25 relatives of burned patients admitted in a Unit for Burned and by participant observation. The results of this study show that the perspective of giving care to a burned person has two dimensions: a physical dimension and a moral one; and generates mainly fear.