EMPATHY OF FAMILY CAREGIVERS WITH PEOPLE WITH CANCER: A QUANTITATIVE EXPLORATORY STUDY.

• Grant number: 23/03783-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2023
• End date: December 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Marysia Mara Rodrigues Do Prado de Carlo
• Grantee: Lívia Tirelli Manara
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant(s): 24/04872-7 - 13th World Research Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC), AR.EXT

Abstract

Introduction: Social interaction is the result of the use of skills that make up the construct called Social Cognition, among which is empathy. Empathy is an individual's ability to understand and feel what the other person thinks and feels, when it comes to situations of affective demand. This allows you to issue an appropriate response at the right time, communicating to you appropriately such understanding and feeling. Despite its importance for the client-caregiver relationship, especially in the field of Palliative Care, this domain is little explored by Occupational Therapy. Objective: To discuss the empathy of family caregivers of people with cancer, at two different moments: during the disease-modifying treatment and when the person cared for is in palliative care. Methodological procedures: A quantitative and exploratory, cross-sectional, and case-like control study will be conducted with family caregivers of cancer patients. (N= 42). Participants will respond to a computational instrument, the MET: Multifaceted Empathy Test, to assess affective empathy. For intragroup analyses, participants will be subdivided into subgroups according to the current stage of disease evolution of the people cared for, namely: during the disease-modifying treatment phase or in palliative treatment. The data will be analyzed by descriptive statistics and group comparison tests, adopting a significance level of 0.05. Expected results: It is expected to identify the levels of empathy of caregivers at different stages of the evolution of the disease, contributing to the construction of new knowledge in Occupational Therapy.