Circunstâncias e consequências do cuidar: estudo prospetivo em cuidados paliativos

Abstract

The sundry circumstances that affect end-of-life care can have a determining role in the result of this experience, particularly in psychological morbidity levels before and after bereavement. The aim of this study is to describe the prevalence of psychopathological symptoms and overburden among family caregivers in palliative care and to identify the circumstances associated with care provision. An attempt was made to evaluate the progress of psychopathological symptoms, identifying circumstantial factors that can interfere in acute grief. The sample consisted of 75 Portuguese caregivers, mostly women and patients' daughters. The results show that caregivers more involved with patient care bear a greater burden and are more likely to manifest psychopathological symptoms, which persist in acute grief. Moreover, the existence of peritraumatic symptoms seem to contribute significantly to the overall state of distress in acute grief. Social support has a protective effect in the different symptomatologic situations and are closely related to family dynamics. These results suggest the possibility of early identification of the most vulnerable caregivers and the adverse circumstances that affect them.

Dimensões dos cuidados paliativos entre familiares/cuidadores de pacientes oncológicos no contexto domiciliar

“…A sobrecarga de trabalho exigida para desenvolver os cuidados paliativos oncológicos foi a problemática enfrentada pelos cuidadores mais citada dentre os estudos analisados [10,30,33]. Diversos fatores negativos derivados do cuidado paliativo contribuem para a sentimento de sobrecarga do cuidador em CP oncológico, por exemplo, ansiedade e depressão, porém a ansiedade aparece em estudos com taxas mais altas do que a depressão, além de fatores como o isolamento social, a falta de apoio prático para os cuidados adequados com o usuário adoecido, o tempo massivo voltado para o desenvolvimento da atenção ao paciente e a fragilidade da situação econômica [35].…”

Caregiving and bereavement in palliative care: A cross-cultural study between Brazil and Portugal

“…Family functioning was assessed using the short version of the Family Relationships Index (FRI) from Kissane et al (1998), translated and validated for the Portuguese population by Delalibera et al (2018), (subscale a between 0.74 and 0.90). As the FRI is one of the subscales of the Family Environment Scale (FES), in Brazil the translation and validation of FES made by Vianna et al (2007) was used (sub-scale a between 0.61 and 0.78).…”