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| Author(s): |
Monica Martins Trovó de Araujo
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Doctoral Thesis |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola de Enfermagem (EE/SBD) |
| Defense date: | 2011-02-14 |
| Examining board members: |
Maria Julia Paes da Silva;
Toshio Chiba;
Maria Julia Kovacs;
Ana Lucia Machado;
Luciane Lucio Pereira
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| Advisor: | Maria Julia Paes da Silva |
| Abstract | |
The objective of this study was to design, apply, and evaluate the efficacy of a training program in interpersonal communication in palliative care. The program was developed based on a theoretical framework of interpersonal health communication, on the process of dying and on the principles and philosophy of palliative care. The program participants were 303 health professionals from different disciplines, consisting of 11 classes, from 5 institutions, and it was performed from August 2008 to July 2009. The subjects knowledge and communication skills were evaluated before and immediately after the training program using an evaluation instrument designed exclusively for this study. One year after the educational intervention, interviews were performed with 32 subjects who had completed the program, with the purpose to evaluate if the knowledge and skills they had learned/improved were maintained over time and applied in their daily practice. The qualitative variables were analyzed in groups according to their similarity and expressed according to their frequency, by number and percentage. To analyze the quantitative variables, means and medians were used to summarize the information, and standard deviations, minimum and maximum were used to indicate the variability of the data. To compare the means of subjects from different classes, Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric tests were used, with a level of significance at 5%. The subjects discourses were analyzed according to the content analysis methodology. The data showed that the before participating in the program, subject had superficial theoretical knowledge and only empirical communication strategies. After the educational intervention there was improvement in their knowledge and communication skills in five of the seven evaluated dimensions, shown by the high statistical significance (p-value < 0.0001) when comparing the scores before and after the program. The communication strategies most valued by the professionals in palliative care were the affective touch, verbal encouragement of solicitude, active listening, and more frequent presence. The knowledge and skills that were learned/improved were kept after one year, as the subjects discourse after that interval made reference to seven categories that showed that the greatest improvement that the program gave them was the reflexive communicational practice. This practice made it possible for subjects to always reflect and perform self-evaluations, promoting changes in their communicational attitudes in the palliative care context. Considering the evidence of its efficacy, it is recommended that the program be used to train health professionals, those being prepared as well as those already working, in the academic environment as well as at health institutions. (AU) | |