The experience of families in face of the finiteness of their children in the process of adopting palliative care.

Abstract

To reveal the experience of family members after learning their child would adopt palliative care. Phenomenological research on Heidegger's perspective. The participants were eleven family members of children who were recommended palliative care in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit from a university hospital in southern Brazil. The statements were obtained in a semi-structured interview, from January to November/2017, and submitted to Heidegger's theoretical-philosophical analysis. Research approved by the institution's Ethical Committee. The communication of palliative care triggers the perception of the child's existencial facticity in the Family, revealing reactions explained in the thematic dimensions: "Coping with the finiteness of the child when confronted with the proposal of adopting palliative care" and "The need for compassionate and attentive care". Phenomenology allows us to understand the parent's existential purpose. An understanding perspective can help interdisciplinary teams to communicate the adoption of palliative care in a sensitive and ethical way, focusing on the best interest of the child.