Delivering bad news: family members who have survived armed conflicts in the trauma hospital

Abstract

Ethnographic research in a trauma hospital made it possible to systematically accompany one of the families who have survived armed conflicts. We observed, in the work process of the Intensive Care Unit, how a body between life and death is revealed through the interactions between health professionals and family members. It is perceived that the “delivering bad news” perspective suppresses the effects produced by state practices of life and death management, in contexts of criminalization of violence reiterated in the daily routine of the trauma hospital. To rectify responses based on biology and protocol, we adopted the epistemological perspective of anthropology and social psychology. This study has shown that the discursive practices reproduced the dynamics of social inequality linked to racism and classism, while families from precarious territorialities constantly experience traumatic situations and imminent grief for violent health problems.