Abstract

MONTEIRO, Daniela Trevisan; MENDES, Jussara Maria Rosa  and  BECK, Carmem Lúcia Colomé. Comfort measures or dysthanasia: coping with patients' death and dying. Rev. SBPH [online]. 2019, vol.22, n.2, pp. 189-210. ISSN 1516-0858.

This study aimed to get to know the interfaces regarding coping with patients' death and dying from health professionals' perspective, in the hospital context. Therefore, a descriptive qualitative study was carried out. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Seventeen professionals, doctors and nurses, who worked in the internal medicine unit of a teaching hospital in Rio Grande do Sul were interviewed. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. The results showed that younger physicians have more difficulties in establishing therapeutic limitation, using all available resources in terms of medical treatment. Decisions are not shared within staff, and many times they are not communicated to the patient, only to the family, who is usually willing to invest at all costs. When the doctor accepts the family's request, the dying process may be prolonged and cause more suffering to the patient. The importance of proximity to patients is considered, in a process of empathy and listening to their desires in decision-making at the end of life. Institutions are responsible for investing in their professionals, striving for greater knowledge regarding the subject of death, thus enabling good quality service.

Keywords : death; attitude towards death; health personnel; palliative care at the end of life.

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