Abstract
Objective: to analyze the comfort of formal and informal caregivers to palliative care patients, identifying the variables associated with the difficulties for home care. Methods: cross-sectional study involving 50 caregivers of palliative care patients attended in the Family Health Strategy, using the General Comfort Questionnaire. Results: most caregivers were women (86.0%), with a mean age of 52 years, with partners (68.0%) and practicing some religion (72.0%). The comfort scores ranged between 202 and 263, with a median of 235. An inverse relation was verified between the General Comfort Questionnaire score and caregiver reports of some difficulty in care delivery to palliative care patients (OR=0.90; 95.0% CI 0.81-1.01). Conclusion: the comfort level of the palliative care patients’ caregivers was relatively good and was associated with the difficulties in home care.
Highlights
Palliative care, considered as the approach intended to promote the quality of life of patients and relatives in response to life-threatening diseases[1], initially developed among cancer patients
It was extended to patients with chronic, progressive and degenerative diseases, who do not respond to the curative treatment. This scenario has made health professionals rethink the way they take care of these patients as, despite the preference for home care, countless difficulties are experienced in this environment, which often end up determining an institutionalized death, even in developed countries[2]
The questions on the General Comfort Questionnaire were focused on caregivers to cancer patients, which was not the case for all participants included in this research, little difference was found in the study in which the comfort of 99 informal caregivers to patients attended at a specialized oncology outpatient clinic was assessed
Summary
Palliative care, considered as the approach intended to promote the quality of life of patients and relatives in response to life-threatening diseases[1], initially developed among cancer patients. It was extended to patients with chronic, progressive and degenerative diseases, who do not respond to the curative treatment This scenario has made health professionals rethink the way they take care of these patients as, despite the preference for home care, countless difficulties are experienced in this environment, which often end up determining an institutionalized death, even in developed countries[2]. The patient and family binomial is always considered a target of care, being both a care provider and receiver[4] In this process, besides the family members’ need to adapt, certain roles are delegated to some people, such as the role of caregiver. This activity can be practiced formally, by a trained or hired professional; and informally, by the family[5]
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