Representações sociais de enfermeiros sobre doença oncológica: repercussões para o cuidado de si

Abstract

The process of performing care is a cycle where factors that include growth are involved and occur without necessarily aiming to cure a disease. Nursing and the act of caring have a very intimate relationship, considering the human being and his needs as the focus of attention of the profession. While nursing professionals are dedicated to the well-being of others, they often neglect care for their own health. With a large number of cases, professionals are expected to come across a health system that is increasingly full of cases related to oncology, which is considered an area of action that is linked to stress, situations of contact with death and need for complex and palliative care are expected. The coexistence with this environment stimulates the emergence of stereotypes, feelings and attitudes. Therefore, the study of social representations linked to the care of self becomes relevant, since the representations are both individual and social, reflections of the manifestations of the social group with which the subject shares experiences and experiences of his personal life. Thus, the following objectives were elaborated: To understand the social representations of nurses on cancer disease and the implications for self care; To describe the social representations of nurses on cancer disease and to analyze the implications of these social representations for nursing care of nurses. For this, a descriptive research was carried out in a qualitative approach with nurses of a reference cancer hospital in Belém. The study is based on the Theory of Social Representations in its procedural approach. Participants were 17 nurses who work directly with the oncology, in the area of care, belonging to the permanent staff of the hospital. Data collection was performed through semi structured interviews and the results obtained were analyzed using the Content Analysis technique, thematic modality, with Braun and Clarke's approach. The present study fully follows all the ethical rigor foreseen in Resolution n° 466, of December of 2012. In the analysis of results, four categories emerged: 1- The impact of cancer: A psychosocial disease; 2- The imaginary about care / care of self; and 3- Care of themselves as an influencer of professional practice, in which we can observe that the repercussions of nurses' social representations on cancer disease can be considered both positive and negative, considering that they seek to care for themselves because they are inserted in a reality considered imbued with different meanings, but they can not carry out this care of themselves effectively because they are unaware of the real extent of the fact, as well as not having time, according to their reports. The need for new research that associates cancer with caring for oneself and for the formal caregiver, in the case of nurses, should be highlighted, since there is a significant shortage of studies that cover these three aspects.