<b>Death and dying: the greatest challenge of a palliative care team</b> - doi: 10.4025/cienccuidsaude.v11i5.17050

Abstract

This study aims to interpret the meanings of death and dying for professionals of a Cancer Palliative Care Home Team by means of an ethnographic analysis. It was used a theoretical-methodological referential from interpretative anthropology and ethnographic case study. The informants were eight members of an interdisciplinary palliative care team of a public service of Home Confinement, from a southern Brazil town. Data were collected from June to December 2008, by means of semi-structured interviews and observations. While interpreting the words of professionals we understood that home palliative care enable death recognition, in which there may be room for patients, families and professionals’ expression of feelings. This context is a challenge that requires a continuous overhaul of beliefs and symbols about death, as not escaping from the theme, not being afraid of other’s death, not being afraid of their own moments of struggle, rupture and crisis. In the process of living the other’s death, professionals make discoveries, suffer, have losses, acquire self-knowledge, but also retain the possibility of reconciliation of life with death.