Abstract

PINTO, Sara; CALDEIRA, Sílvia  and  MARTINS, José Carlos. Hope of cancer patients: research in the context of chemotherapy. Rev. Enf. Ref. [online]. 2012, vol.serIII, n.7, pp.23-31. ISSN 0874-0283.  https://doi.org/10.12707/RIII11148.

Background: hope is a concept which helps people to deal more effectively with a crisis. The scientific evidence suggests its importance in the context of palliative care, arguing that realistic hopes help the person to live their remaining time in a better way. Objectives: to analyze the hope level of a sample of patients having chemotherapy and to understand the influence of some socio-demographic, clinical and religious variables. Methodology: an observational, cross-sectional, exploratory, descriptive, correlational study with a sample of 92 cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. We used the Herth Hope Index-PT and the data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 18. Results: those surveyed had high levels of hope (mean=29.61 points). Time of diagnosis and time in chemotherapy influenced hope (p <0.01 and p <0.05 respectively). The relationships found were weak and inverse. Conclusion: as time goes on the hope of patients having chemotherapy seems to diminish, which supports the need to promote it continually. Information appropriate to the person’s needs promotes realistic objectives and helps the person to restore the meaning of life.

Keywords : hope; information; cancer; palliative care.

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