ABSTRACT
Objective:
To reveal the experience of family members after learning their child would adopt palliative care.
Method:
Phenomenological research on Heidegger’s perspective. The participants were eleven family members of children who were recommended palliative care in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit from a university hospital in southern Brazil. The statements were obtained in a semi-structured interview, from January to November/2017, and submitted to Heidegger’s theoretical-philosophical analysis. Research approved by the institution’s Ethical Committee.
Results:
The communication of palliative care triggers the perception of the child’s existencial facticity in the Family, revealing reactions explained in the thematic dimensions: “Coping with the finiteness of the child when confronted with the proposal of adopting palliative care” and “The need for compassionate and attentive care”.
Final considerations:
Phenomenology allows us to understand the parent's existential purpose. An understanding perspective can help interdisciplinary teams to communicate the adoption of palliative care in a sensitive and ethical way, focusing on the best interest of the child.
Keywords:
Palliative care; Intensive care units, pediatric; Qualitative research