Meanings attributed to palliative care by health professional in the primary care context

Abstract

Objective: to understand the meanings attributed by health professionals to palliative care assistance in primary health care. Method: a qualitative research, guided by the social phenomenological dimension of Alfred Schütz. Twenty-five health professionals working in one of the three health units and a Family Health Support Center in the city of Natal / RN, Brazil, participated in this study. The fieldwork was carried out through an interview in the year 2015, and the information was analyzed according to the steps of social phenomenology researchers. Results: it was understood that health professionals were able to recognize the need of the other in the practice of palliative care assistance in primary health care. The meanings attributed by health professionals involved the need for an organized system in a health care network that favored the social relationships involved in care. This involves redefining the social attitude of health professionals, in the confrontation of culture and the curative hospital-care model, in palliative care in primary health care, through the inclusion and awareness of the family. Conclusion: the meanings attributed to palliative care in the primary health care context involve the intersubjective experience of health professionals. Based on continuous health practices in the process of interaction between professionals, health care network, patient and family, with the home context as a reality of care.