FINITUDE: DEATH, DYING AND CARE FOR TERMINAL ONCOLOGICAL PATIENTS IN THE VIEW OF HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The presence of a terminal illness that leads patients to need interventions and special care, imposes complex and ambivalent feelings on health professionals. Perceiving the finitude of the life cycle of the other, facing this possibility, makes them experience pain, grief and project this experience in their own lives. OBJECTIVE: To know the perception about death and dying of health professionals who deal directly with terminally ill cancer patients. METHODOLOGY: This is an exploratory, quantitative and qualitative field research carried out with health professionals from a high complexity unit in oncology in the state health network of Amapá. The sample consisted of 10 professionals from different categories, including high school and higher education professionals, including nursing technicians, nurses, social workers, doctors and psychologists. As research instruments, a semi-structured questionnaire composed of three parts was used. The first part contained socio-demographic data, the second with some statements about the theme and the third composed of 12 subjective questions in order to bring reflections on the proposed theme. RESULTS: For most professionals, death is a natural aspect of life; relief from suffering and union with God. For professionals who experience this reality daily, the perception of finitude and its consequences regarding death and dying have been shaped over time and in practice; for them, very little was studied or discussed during their professional training. For others, the perception of finitude/death is multifactorial; it depends on how patients react and adhere to the proposed treatment possibilities. Acceptance is more relaxed in elderly patients who have been in treatment for longer than in younger patients. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: When the patient receives the diagnosis of cancer, his thinking creates a whirlwind of sensations and feelings that can interfere with his treatment process. The experience of finitude/death by health professionals allowed the re-signification of previous concepts, helping in the management of daily situations experienced in their practice or even in the grieving process that accompanies and permeates their daily lives. Knowing the reality of an oncology unit where, on a daily basis, finitude is dealt with, it made it possible to broaden the look, reflect on life and death and transform us in a unique and significant way. The experience lived in this study contributes to understanding different subjective aspects involved in working with terminal patients, makes us realize the need to expand studies and debates about finitude/death that permeates the practice of health professionals in the contexts of their work.