The importance of communication in pediatric oncology palliative care: Focus on humanistic nursing theory

Abstract

Objective: to investigate and analyze communication in palliative care contexts from the perspective of nurses, based on Humanistic Nursing Theory. Method: this is a field study with a qualitative approach, in which ten nurses working in the pediatric oncology unit of a Brazilian public hospital participated. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The testimonies were qualitatively analyzed using Humanistic Nursing Theory and based on the five phases of Nursing Phenomenology. Results: two thematic categories emerged from the analysis of the study's empirical material: strategy to humanize nursing care, with an emphasis on relieving the child's suffering and strategy to strengthen ties of trust established between nurse and child. Conclusion: communication is an efficacious element in the care provided to the child with cancer and is extremely important to promoting palliative care when it is based on Humanistic Nursing Theory.