Speech-language pathologists’ perception on their performance in the palliative care area at a public hospital in Santa Catarina state, Brazil

ABSTRACT

Purpose  To identify speech-language pathologists’ perception on their performance in palliative care at a public hospital in Santa Catarina State, Brazil.

Methods  It is a descriptive, qualitative study, conducted by 5 speech-language pathologists at a public hospital in Santa Catarina State. Data were collected by means of a semi-structured interview and submitted to content analysis.

Results  After the content analysis of the participating speech-language pathologists, the following post-defined categories emerged: concept and understanding of palliative care and speech-language pathologists’ performance; the importance of the speech-language pathologists in multidisciplinary teams; interpersonal relationship with patients and their families, and constraints in the practice of palliative care.

Conclusion  According to speech-language pathologists' perception, palliative care is delivered to patients without any possibility of cure, but it is necessary to treat their comorbidities, and provide them with better quality of life; the perception of the speech-language pathology performance in the field of dysphagia stood out; report of other professionals acknowledging speech-language pathologists’ performance in the area of dysphagia has been expanded; and such care should be extended to the whole family.

Keywords:  Palliative care; Speech-Language Pathology; Patient support team; Perception; Hospital