Percepção de luto e vivência de luto antecipatório de familiares em uma unidade de cuidados paliativos

Abstract

Introduction: Antecipatory grief is described as a coping mechanism to deal with the experience of finitude in the face of the possibility of a loved one separation. Objective: Comprehend the influence of the aspects of Death and of Dying in the process of grief and antecipatory grief in family members that were present in exclusive Palliative Care Units.Methodology:This is a qualitative research of non-experimental character,exploratory and descriptive, conducted in exclusive Palliative Care Units of oncology and geriatrics of a hospital located in the Midwest region of Brazil.Results and Discussion: Around 80% of participants showed no previous knowledge about antecipatory grief, but did manifest lines that demonstrated having experienced this process at some point. Conclusion: It was observed that the lack of knowledge of the concept of antecipatory grief can interfere in the difficulty of experiencing these processes.