Cuidar da criança em fim de vida

: a comunicação

Abstract

is important to the relationship established between the caregiver and the parent/child. Depending on the stage of development, children/teens have different ideas about the concept of death, so the speech should be adapted to their needs and ability to understand. Parents deny and refuse to tell the truth, but the children know when they will die, and eventually hide it from their parents for fear of hurting them. Faced with this problem, we had to recognize the importance of communication with the child at the end of life, and due to the need of break this barrier, we developed a study based on the question "how nurses talk about death with a child at the end of life" and prepared the following objectives: identify nurses difficulties talking about death with a child at the end of life, their strategies and how they respond when confronted by children. Considering the objectives, the methodology used was qualitative, supported by content analysis. Six nurses from the Pediatric Service of an Lisbon hospital, were interviewed. The data collection instrument used was a semi - structured interview. From the analysis of the findings, we conclude that the nurses difficulties talking about death with a child at the end of life are: speaking with the parents; the age of the children; talk about death; lack of training and emotional difficulties. In response to the second objective, the strategies mentioned were: teamwork, communication and training. The suggestions, as a way to m going to die?" pass for: return the question; skirting the issue, the relationship with the child/family. The above results show the importance of preparation and training for good communication with the child at the end of life.

Date of Award	21 Oct 2014
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Lurdes Martins (Supervisor)