Necessidades e apoio social em familiares de pacientes em cuidados paliativos na unidade de terapia intensiva

Abstract

Palliative Care are actions that aim to alleviate unpleasant symptoms caused by a disease as well as by treatment. They aim to improve the patients' quality of life, encompassing care for the family and the community. In the hospital context, the Intensive Care Unit is one of the environments where it can occur, with the family also being the object of intervention, study and psychological investigation. This group of people have specific needs and present emotional changes during the follow-up of hospitalization in this environment. In addition, in the context of assistance to the family of patients in Palliative Care the relevance of verifying the perception of social support in the confrontation of this reality arises. The literature points to social support as a shield, that protects the individual from risks caused by pathological crises, and therefore is essential for the promotion of health. The objective of this study is to investigate the needs and perceptions of social support in family members of patients in Palliative Care in the Intensive Care Unit. This is a quantitative, exploratory and cross-sectional study among 52 relatives of a private hospital in Natal. Sociodemographic questionnaire, Inventory of Needs and Stressors of Families in Intensive Care and Social Support Scale were used. The analysis was based on descriptive and inferential statistics, in addition to the use of statistical data processing software. Regarding the profile of the respondents, it was possible to verify that they were familiar: women (88,46%), over 45 years (55,77%), daughters (59,62%), married or have a stable marriage (44,23%), with higher education (65,39%), catholics (65,39%) and family income above 4 wage -minimums (67,31%). The results suggest satisfactory social support, with statistical significance to the affective dimension (M: 90,0), and point to significant associations between items of this support and variables such as higher family income with retired participants. The presence of needs was related to the dimensions of security (M: 3,87) and information (M: 3,68). Evidence indicates the presence of a significant relationship between these items and aspects related to age, schooling, family income, with special attention to interventions with regard to the family of patients in PC and their network of relationships, represented here by the family and health team. It is advisable to develop strategies that meet the needs of this group.