Occupational therapy in a pediatric cardiological clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic: Experience report of a resident

Abstract

Hospital treatment of children with congenital heart disease during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic restricts their daily activities such as bathing, eating, studying, and leisure. The protocols of patient safety and hospital biosafety that aim to improve the care quality actions and infection control tend to generate a reality of anonymity, depersonalization, which exacerbates the presence of fear related to pain and the threat of death in patients and their families. In this context, the environments that symbolized essential care for life now come to be understood by the population, as a place of the great possibility of infection by the new coronavirus. This set of factors can affect the lives of children with heart disease, given the urgency of hospital therapy, negatively influencing the acceptance of interventions performed in this context. To reflect on these aspects, this study describes the professional experiences that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 provided by a Cardiovascular Health Care Residency program. It is a descriptive and qualitative study of professional experience reports. In this, it was observed that the interaction of children and companions became restricted to individuals who shared the same ward environment and with the team members during the interventions. Because of this, the occupational therapist is the qualified professional to identify disruptions in daily life, reflect and intervene in new ways to meet occupational demands, develop resources and adaptations that corresponded to the needs of each patient.