Hospital pedagogy: A space of love and recognition for the oncological pediatric patient

Abstract

Objective: to understand the perception on hospital pedagogy of family caregivers of pediatric cancer patients in the Department of Córdoba, Colombia. Method: a qualitative study with an ethnographic approach whose results were obtained through interviews, participant observation and focus groups with 25 family caregivers enrolled in the database of the UNICOS, Volunteer School Support Program, of the University of Córdoba. Data was collected between February and June 2017, coded and organized in three axes: conceptions of hospital pedagogy, activities and didactics and values of the hospital pedagogue; and analyzed under the technique of multiple triangulation. Results: all caregivers belong to the female gender, between 20-40 years old, incomplete high school level, in a consensual union and unemployed; pedagogy is conceived as an act of love that is limited by the lack of adequate spaces and materials; the graphic-plastic activities and the interactive didactics that include music, directed readings and videos are the children’s biggest preferences; in addition, the hospital pedagogue is conceived as a special person, with human warmth, sympathy and listening skills. Conclusion: hospital pedagogy is a strategy that allows coping with the disease, recognition of children and caregivers as subjects of rights and opportunities, and consolidation of inter-sectorial and interdisciplinary work for the development of the child’s health.