Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the provision of Palliative Care (PC), challenging the teams aiming to provide adequate care.This is a qualitative study that intends to know, from the perspective of health professionals of a Palliative Care Unit (PCU), the main challenges in providing PC during a pandemic and describes the strategies to be adopted to solve the identified difficulties. We utilized the content analysis, according to Bardin, for data analysis of written narratives of health professionals from a PCU (n=14). In the analysis of the difficulties in providing PC, from the perspective of health professionals, were identified five themes: 1) Altered relationship between healthcare professional and patients, 2) altered relationship between healthcare professional and family, 3) altered communication with patients and their family, 4) altered working dynamic within the PCU, and 5) altered use of healthcare resources. Concerning the strategies to be implemented, the health professionals identified two themes: 1) Strategies to implement between the patient and family members and 2) strategies to implement for the healthcare professionals.The provision of PC is affected by changes in the relationship between the health professional and the patient/caregiver or family, in communication with the patient/caregiver or family, and the use of health resources. In an attempt to lessen the impact of these changes, participants identified strategies to improve PC delivery in these circumstances. During this pandemic, it is imperative to implement rigorous strategies for managing specialized human resources. Physical distance and personal protective equipment are barriers to communication and emotional support, which is essential in PC and this barrier is further accentuated by the required physical distance from family members and caregivers. PC´s main aim continues to be the mitigation of suffering.
Highlights
Since the beginning of 2020, healthcare, in general, and Palliative Care (PC), have undergone important changes
This study explores, from the perspective of the health professionals of a Palliative Care Unit (PCU), the difficulties in providing care during a pandemic and which strategies to implement to solve the identified difficulties
The qualitative study focused on the analysis of data collected from health professionals in a PCU
Summary
Since the beginning of 2020, healthcare, in general, and Palliative Care (PC), have undergone important changes. On March 11, 2020, the infection caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus became an international pandemic [1]. Over the months that ensued, as the number of infected people increased, the COVID-19 pandemic caused an increase in the number of hospital admissions, affected health systems, and had implications for access to healthcare, with a significant reduction in appointments, diagnostic tests, and surgical interventions, and Portugal was no exception [2]. The increase in the number of deaths, directly and indirectly, related to COVID-19, implied changes in healthcare provision. In Portugal, between March 2, 2020, when the first cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed, and 30 August 2020 there were 57,971 deaths, an increase of 6,312 deaths compared to the same time periods of the last five years. Of the total number of deaths, only 1,822 were as a result of SARS-CoV-2 infection [3]
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