Palliative care: knowledge of cancer patients and their caregivers

Abstract The objective of this study is to verify the perception of palliative care, advance directives of will and do-not-resuscitate order of patients and their caregivers, as well as their relationship with health professionals. This is a quantitative descriptive research, carried out between 2018 and 2019 at the Center for High Complexity in Oncology of a Brazilian university hospital. The sample included 200 participants (100 cancer patients and 100 informal caregivers). The collected data were stored in Microsoft Excel and processed in the SPSS software. It was possible to observe the participants' lack of knowledge about issues related to the end of life, as well as the paradox of disagreeing with dysthanasia and agreeing with obstinate resuscitation. The results also attest to the importance of health professionals in the perception of caregivers about their own capacity to exercise this function.摘要 本研究旨在验证患者及其非正式照护者对姑息治疗（palliative care）、预立医疗遗嘱（advance directives of will）与不复苏医嘱（do-not-resuscitate order）的认知状况，以及该认知与医疗专业人员之间的关联。本研究为定量描述性研究，于2018—2019年间在巴西某大学医院肿瘤高复杂度诊疗中心开展。研究共纳入200名受试者，其中包含100名癌症患者与100名非正式照护者。所采集的数据存储于Microsoft Excel软件，并通过SPSS统计软件完成处理。研究结果显示，受试者对临终相关议题普遍缺乏认知，同时存在既反对延滞性死亡、又支持强行复苏的认知悖论；此外，研究证实医疗专业人员在照护者对自身照护能力的认知构建中发挥着关键作用。