Coping strategies of nurses in the care of patients with head and neck neoplasms

Abstract

Objective: To understand and describe the experience of the development of coping strategies during the professional life of nurses providing care to patients with facial image alteration. Method: Descriptive qualitative study with a hermeneutic-dialectic framework conducted in the head and neck ward of a reference hospital in Rio de Janeiro, with the participation of eight nurses and data produced through semi-structured interviews conducted between June and August 2013. Results: Three major impressions were found: initial estrangement and complexity, consisting in the care given to patients with facial image alteration; a threshold between estrangement and coping, corresponding to the emergence of coping strategies during care; and image-likeness as a (re)cognition of the individual with facial image alteration in the development and consolidation of coping strategies during care. Conclusion: Among other contributions, the identification and understanding of coping strategies may contribute to better qualify nursing education and care.