Cuidados paliativos na clínica da infância: histórias de terapeutas ocupacionais que trabalham com o Método Terapia Ocupacional Dinâmica

Abstract

Palliative care (PC) is the set of practices capable of providing improvement in the quality of life of the individual who faces a disease that threatens the continuity of life, as well as their family members, providing support in the emotional, social , spiritual, through multidisciplinary teams. PC with children imposes challenges in the face of all the complexity that involves facing diseases that threaten their lives, and processes of finitude and culturally situated mourning. Working in a complex scenario, such as PC, requires professionals to acquire knowledge, and reflection on practice is essential. Thus, this qualitative research used semi-structured interviews, transcribed and analyzed thematically, with four occupational therapists who work with the MTOD and who worked in the context of PC with children. The results of data analysis revealed four central themes: 1. Understanding the practice of occupational therapy in the MTOD in PC with children: the focus on the situation; 2. Occupational therapy care in the MTOD: expanding health possibilities and spaces; 3. The indissociability in personal-professional development: thinking about processes of finitude and taking care of the finitude of life and 4. Difficulties, challenges and facilities for working in PC. Such results provide guidance on elements of practice that require professional learning centered on the situation and based on occupation, considering that the MTOD promotes care that unfolds from dynamic movements between the occupational therapist, the target person and the activities that are called to compose the relationship based on needs and desires. It is expected to contribute both to a better understanding of occupational therapy care in PC in the childhood clinic, and to the discussion about learning professional practice in this context.