Indicadores de capacidade de cuidar, em famílias de doentes oncológicos paliativos

Abstract

The goal of this report is to assess the factors that can influence the capacity of a family to take care of an oncologic patient in Palliative Care. It is a broad, qualitative and observational study, backed by the Grounded Theory and using the Focus Group (FG) techniques and it took place between January and August 2009. For this investigation we brought together relatives of patients of the Portuguese Institute of Oncology of Oporto (IPO Porto) that were affected by an incurable and progressive oncologic illness. All elements were directly or indirectly connected to the caring of the palliative oncologic patient. By analyzing the FG meetings we can identify four axis that carry factors (categories) that may condition the capacity to take care: The Practical Axis (Internment, technical aid, social/health resources, palliative care, psychological support, relocation, house expenses) The Relational Axis (bonds, loss, privacy, intimacy,support to the caregiver, sharing) The Internal Experience Axis (feelings, coping strategies, affection, suffering, death, psychological support) The Health Condition Axis (recovering, symptoms, information about the illness, vulnerability of the caregiver). A list of the identified indicators is of help in the holistic evaluation of the family by enabling an early detection of traits that may be a risk to their caring capacity, conditioning the continuity of the palliative care and/or a possible discharge.

Date of Award	Jun 2010
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Eugénia Ribeiro (Supervisor) & Anna Novellas (Co-Supervisor)