International Journal of Nursing

Provision of Primary Health Care For End-of-Life Older-Aged Patients and Their Families: A Qualitative Study
Lucía Silva, Regina Szylit Bousso, Maiara Rodrigues dos Santos, Natália Nigro de Sá, Maira Misko Deguer, Elaine Buchhorn Cintra Damião

Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the primary healthcare professionals´ experiences towards the provision of health care for end-of-life older-aged patients and their family members. The theoretical framework used was the Symbolic Interactionism and the research method was the Grounded Theory. Fourteen staff members of a Brazilian health care facility were interviewed. Through comparative data analysis from the interview´s contents, a central theme was identified: Committing to Efforts to Provide Care to the Family and Promote Dignified Death to the Elderly. Additionally, five sub-processes were acknowledged: confronting with the meanings given to death; feeling love and compassion for the family; identifying obstacles to keep assistance flow; recognizing the influence of family barriers on care giving and promoting a good death. The healthcare providers ´experiences were permeated by strong difficulties. They have taken great effort to get their higher performance in terms of care, when it comes to identify the patient´s and family member´s supportive needs in order to provide dignity in end-of-life older-aged patient’s care, aiming to deliver a more comprehensive health care.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/ijn.v2n1a13