Abstract

ALVES, Márcia Lúcia Sousa Dias; JARDIM, Maria Helena de Agrela Gonçalves  and  FREITAS, Otília Maria Silva. Suffering of cancer patients in a palliative situation. Rev. Enf. Ref. [online]. 2012, vol.serIII, n.8, pp.115-124. ISSN 0874-0283.  https://doi.org/10.12707/RIII1217.

Context: the increase in the number of chronically ill people in the Portuguese population has become a worrying phenomenon with social, economic and health repercussions, and with patients having varying degrees of suffering. This issue is an important area of nursing intervention for people at the palliative stage, whether from a preventive perspective or for the relief of suffering. Objectives: to analyze perceptions of the situation of cancer patients with regard to suffering and its various dimensions. Methodology: a descriptive-correlational study with a cross-sectional dimension was designed. We administered the Inventory of Subjective Experiences of Suffering to 38 patients in a palliative situation who had been admitted to surgical and hematology-oncology services and who were over 18 years of age. Results: patients showed intermediate levels of global suffering and a significant correlation was observed between age and the social relational dimension of distress. Conclusion: we believe that we have identified in a structured way the importance of this area of nursing intervention for people in a palliative situation and for the development of interventions for the prevention and relief of suffering of these patients.

Keywords : palliative care; patients; oncology.

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