Abstract

PONTE, Ana Carolina Silva L. C.  and  PAIS-RIBEIRO, José Luís. Well-being in palliative care: perspective of the patient versus health care practitioners. Psic., Saúde & Doenças [online]. 2014, vol.15, n.1, pp.137-153. ISSN 1645-0086.  https://doi.org/10.15309/14psd150112.

Palliative care are global, active, rigorous and specialized care aimed at patients who suffer from an advanced, progressive, serious and/or incurable illness. Are provided by an interdisciplinary team that manages their symptoms and answers their multiple needs, intending to assist the patient to live well until the end of his days. This study aimed to compare the patient´s and health care practitioner´s perspectives regarding the palliative patient´s well-being. The participants were 74 patients and 78 health care practitioner´s recruited in four palliative care units/services from different regions of the country. It was a cross-sectional, exploratory, and between groups comparison study. A single item of global well-being and a question concerning the degree of importance of nine relevant factors to the end of life were used. Student´s t-test was utilized to compare the level of well-being and the relevant factors for its enhancement. Data analysis showed, apart from the importance of freedom from pain, the existence of statistically significant differences between groups in all dimensions evaluated. The palliative patient´s well-being is pointed by the patients themselves as reasonable and high by the health care practitioners. The distancing of opinions is also observed at the level of importance of different factors for the well-being, given the less importance attributed by health care practitioners to aspects prioritized by the patients. It is concluded that if the patient is incapable to express himself, health care practitioners are unable to adequately replace the patient's point of view.

Keywords : palliative patients; well-being; health care practitioners; perspectives comparison.

        · abstract in Portuguese     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )