Abstract

MARINHO, Roberta Fernandes; SANTOS, Niraldo de O.; PEDROSA, André Falcão  and  LUCIA, Mara Cristina S. de. Beliefs related to the process of sickness and cure in chronic renal patients. Psicol. hosp. (São Paulo) [online]. 2005, vol.3, n.2. ISSN 2175-3547.

The way in which a patient expresses him or herself, and the way in which a patient understands life, have bearing on the way in which a patient copes with sickness. This study had as its purpose the identification of beliefs as much as treatment and cure, and the understanding of the way in which expression is culturally couched and transmitted. The study was carried out in the nephrology section of The Sugar Hospital (Hospital do Açucar). Twenty-five individuals on hemodialysis were interviewed. It was confirmed that, in spite of understanding the information transmitted, 52% of the sample sought alternative treatment. Of these, only 8% had no schooling. Faced with such data, the study sought to delineate a relationship between sickness, treatment, belief, and culture. It was observed that when the individual confronts the fact that he or she has become sick in some way, the individual searches out whatever resources to remain alive. This is so independent of one’s intellectual level or of the way in which information was communicated to the patient. This reinforces the influence of belief in relation to sickness or cure.

Keywords : Hospital psychology; Beliefs; Nephrology.

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