Abstract
Introduction:
Palliative care is a set of approaches to improve the quality of living for people who are out of the possibility of cure of a particular illness. Generally, they demand from family members the task of being caretakers, implying in their day-to-day occupations. The occupations are the various daily actions carried out by individuals, in groups and in the communities to which they belong, to fill the time and bring meanings and purposes to life. The occupational form understands what people do, how they do it, and in what circumstances they do. It is understood that caregivers of people who are in palliative care have a peculiar way of occupying themselves and with characteristic conditions.
Objective:
To understand the form of occupations of the main caregivers of people in oncological palliative care.
Method:
This is a qualitative research, carried out at a reference hospital in palliative care in the Northern Region of Brazil, at the Oncology Palliative Care Clinic (CCPO). An open interview was conducted with 20 family caregivers.
Results:
Outstanding changes in routine organization and dedication to caring for the loved one in palliative care. It also revealed that being a caregiver led to the difficult task of including, maintaining, and excluding day-to-day occupations.
Conclusion:
The study highlights the implications in the occupational repertoire in the condition of being a caregiver in palliative care and how the occupation is developed and drawing attention to the need for health professionals to direct their attention also to caregivers.
Keywords:
Oncology; Palliative Care; Caregivers; Occupation