Children's literature in intensive care units: an invitation to reflection and discussion for professionals about death and dying

• Autor(a) principal: Fonseca,Anelise
• Data de Publicação: 2013
• Outros Autores: Geovanini,Fátima
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Geriatrics, Gerontology and Aging (Online)
• Texto Completo: https://ggaging.com/details/134
• topic: Death, Intensive Care Units, literature, palliative care.

<p><b>INTRODUCTION:</b> The behavior of our contemporary society in the face of death reveals the difficulties encountered by man when faced with human finitude. Silence and the attempt to keep away from death are commonly observed attitudes, characterizing the issue as a taboo subject, even in areas where it is routinely present, such as hospitals. For health care professionals, who daily perform functions related to death, we also found barriers that can cause suffering for both the professional and for patients and their families. Special attention should be paid to the Intensive Care Unit, where death and suffering are even more present, and require continuous and routinecoping strategies from health care workers.<br> <b>METHOD:</b> To describe children's literature as a strategy to aid in coping with death in routine work of Intensive Care Unit professionals.<br> <b>RESULTS:</b> Currently there is a rich collection of children's books which, using a dense and poetic language, deals with issues related to death, functioning as an important stimulus for the discussion and development of complex issues related to death and bereavement.<br> <b>CONCLUSION:</b> The use of children's literature as a facilitator of the process of reflection and discussion about death and dying shows that its importance lies in the sharing of emotions among members of a multidisciplinary team, promoting personal growth and strengthening of group work.</p>