Death and dying in oncopediatrics from the perspective of nurses - integrative review

Abstract

Death from the dawn of humanity is considered a threatening process, so even today many people needed to discuss. Despite the immense advances in the treatment of childhood cancer and care being something frequent in the lives of children affected by these diseases, in many cases death is an inevitable outcome and the nurse who works in pediatric oncology, whether in chemotherapy units and/or pediatric inpatient radiotherapy, is vulnerable and exposed to each loss, needing resilience to continue performing its work well. Therefore, this study aims to identify nurses' perceptions of the process of death and dying in pediatric oncology and their coping mechanisms after the loss of a pediatric patient. Through an integrative literature review, articles in the Library were carried out. Virtual Health (VHL) available in Latin American Literature in Latin American Literature (Lilacs), Scientific Electronic Library Online (Scielo). Seven articles were selected on the topic, published in Portuguese between the years 2017 to 2021. The nursing team, as well as the nurse, has difficulty in dealing with the death of a child, most of the time they do not understand the process of death and dying and its stages, neither have scientific knowledge about palliative care. Ensuring that a child with terminal cancer has a dynamic death process, or a nurse needs to be prepared to deal with the situation. Identifying the nurse's perception about the process of death and dying is essential for him to be able to convey security to the rest of the nursing team and can support the family, through active listening, in addition to providing quality care to the sick child.