Meaning-Making Among Family Members of Hospitalized Traffic Accident Victims: A Grounded Theory Study.

Background Traffic accidents represent an important public health problem in Nicaragua, yet national research has largely emphasized quantitative outcomes and has paid less attention to how families interpret these events during hospitalization. This study aimed to understand how family members of hospitalized traffic accident victims construct meaning around the accident during the patient's hospitalization. Methodology We used a qualitative grounded theory design. Ten adult immediate family members who had actively accompanied the patient and assumed caregiving responsibilities participated in face-to-face, in-depth interviews. Participants were recruited according to predefined eligibility criteria. Data collection and analysis proceeded iteratively until additional interviews no longer substantially modified the emerging categories or their relationships. Transcripts were analyzed in ATLAS.ti 9 using open coding, constant comparison, analytical memo writing, and axial coding. Results Participants included eight women and two men aged 21-51 years; nine of the 10 accidents involved motorcycles. Analysis generated an emerging conceptual model comprising five interrelated categories: initial coping with the event; family reorganization and immediate overload; attribution of meaning to the accident; bodily vulnerability and empathy with the victim; and social support and the hospital environment. Participants described an initial emotional and somatic shock that rapidly coexisted with caregiving decisions, administrative demands, and family role reorganization. They interpreted the accident through notions of responsibility, vulnerability, injustice, and road risk, while uncertainty regarding disability or amputation intensified distress. Family, community, religious, and healthcare support shaped how participants navigated the crisis. Across these categories, meaning-making emerged as a process through which relatives progressively incorporated the accident into their understanding of family roles, relationships, and expectations for the future. Although caregiving experiences were predominantly described by women in this sample, its composition does not support broader conclusions about gender distribution. Conclusions These findings suggest that the effects of hospitalization after a traffic accident extend beyond the injured person and involve the wider family network. They generate hypotheses regarding the potential relevance of clear communication and family-centered support during acute care, which should be evaluated in future research.