Brazilian Health Professionals’ Perception about Death: An Integrative Review

Authors

  • Paula Camila Alves de Assis Pereira Doctor of the Family Health Strategy, Health Station Três Bodegas, Icó, Ceará, Brazil.
  • João Welberthon Matos Queiroz Doctor of the Family Health Strategy, Health Station Camelo Lopes, Campos Sales, Ceará, Brazil.
  • Daniel Felipe Bonfim da Silveira Doctor of the Family Health Strategy, Health Station Itamaraty, Uruburetama, Ceará, Brazil.
  • Maria do Carmo Andrade Duarte de Farias Academic Unit of Life Sciences, Teacher training center, Federal University of Campina Grande.
  • Eliane de Sousa Leite Academic Unit of Life Sciences, Teacher training center, Federal University of Campina Grande.
  • Kennia Sibelly Marques de Abrantes Academic Unit of Life Sciences, Teacher training center, Federal University of Campina Grande.
  • Betânia Maria Pereira dos Santos Academic Unit of Life Sciences, Teacher training center, Federal University of Campina Grande.
  • Geofabio Sucupira Casimiro Academic Unit of Life Sciences, Teacher training center, Federal University of Campina Grande.
  • Joyce Carolle Bezerra Cavalcante Student of Medicine, Academic Unit of Life Sciences, Federal University of Campina Grande.
  • Luiz Carlos de Abreu Scientific Writing Laboratories, Faculty of Medicine of ABC, Santo Andre, SP, Brazil.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3823/1748

Keywords:

Death, Attitude to Death, Nursing, Doctors, Literature Review.

Abstract

Introduction: Recognizing deeply the death and all the elements that surround it should be of interest to all health care professionals, so that this can appreciate the comfort and dignified death of the patient without feeling guilty or overwhelmed with negative feelings.

Objective: Analyzing the perception of Brazilian health professionals about the terminally life.

Method: It was used the integrative review for organization and systematization of knowledge. The research was conducted in November 2014, in the LILACS database, through descriptors: nursing, medical, perception, attitude towards death, dying and euthanasia in Portuguese and English in PubMed. The results were obtained after a thorough analysis of 15 selected articles.

Results: The evaluation of the work made possible the detection of five perceptions towards death: life stage, technicist conception, move to a better place, liberation from suffering and unexpected interruption of life. It was noticed that nurses are the professionals who have more comprehensive understanding of death as multifaceted event. Moreover, most doctors have a vision centered on the technicists and biological ideals.

Conclusion: The reduced number of studies conducted with health professionals from other areas makes it impossible to generalize the findings and promote the need for more studies in the area. Even with a comprehensive understanding by some professionals, those still have difficulties in dealing with the process of death in their daily life. Therefore, there is also need for greater discussion of the topic in academia and in daily practice, to improve the understanding and the attitude of health professionals facing death.

Author Biographies

João Welberthon Matos Queiroz, Doctor of the Family Health Strategy, Health Station Camelo Lopes, Campos Sales, Ceará, Brazil.

Doctor of the Family Health Strategy, Health Station Camelo Lopes, Campos Sales, Ceará, Brazil.

Daniel Felipe Bonfim da Silveira, Doctor of the Family Health Strategy, Health Station Itamaraty, Uruburetama, Ceará, Brazil.

Doctor of the Family Health Strategy, Health Station Itamaraty, Uruburetama, Ceará, Brazil.

Maria do Carmo Andrade Duarte de Farias, Academic Unit of Life Sciences, Teacher training center, Federal University of Campina Grande.

Academic Unit of Life Sciences, Teacher
training center, Federal University of
Campina Grande.

Eliane de Sousa Leite, Academic Unit of Life Sciences, Teacher training center, Federal University of Campina Grande.

Academic Unit of Life Sciences, Teacher
training center, Federal University of
Campina Grande.

Kennia Sibelly Marques de Abrantes, Academic Unit of Life Sciences, Teacher training center, Federal University of Campina Grande.

Academic Unit of Life Sciences, Teacher
training center, Federal University of
Campina Grande.

Betânia Maria Pereira dos Santos, Academic Unit of Life Sciences, Teacher training center, Federal University of Campina Grande.

Academic Unit of Life Sciences, Teacher
training center, Federal University of
Campina Grande.

Geofabio Sucupira Casimiro, Academic Unit of Life Sciences, Teacher training center, Federal University of Campina Grande.

Academic Unit of Life Sciences, Teacher
training center, Federal University of
Campina Grande.

Joyce Carolle Bezerra Cavalcante, Student of Medicine, Academic Unit of Life Sciences, Federal University of Campina Grande.

Student of Medicine, Academic Unit of Life Sciences, Federal University of Campina Grande.

Luiz Carlos de Abreu, Scientific Writing Laboratories, Faculty of Medicine of ABC, Santo Andre, SP, Brazil.

Scientific Writing Laboratories, Faculty of Medicine of ABC, Santo Andre, SP, Brazil.

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Published

2015-06-30

Issue

Vol. 8 (2015)

Section

Medical Humanities

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