PSICOLOGIA HOSPITALAR E CUIDADOS PALIATIVOS: ATUAÇÃO COM PACIENTES ONCOLÓGICOS

Abstract

Oncology is the science dedicated to studying cancer, its etiology and possible treatments. In this regard, psycho-oncology emerges, which acts in prevention, in receiving the diagnosis, in the treatment and in the follow-up of people who are beyond therapeutic possibilities. Therefore, palliative care, in psycho-oncology, is a comprehensive and holistic approach, which aims to improve the quality of life of cancer patients and their families, in intra- and extra-hospital settings. This study aims to identify and analyze the performance of hospital psychologists with cancer patients in palliative care, based on the method of integrative bibliographical review of the scientific literature. Searches were carried out for scientific articles in the databases of Google Scholar, Scielo, Virtual Health Library (BVS), Virtual Health Library Psychology Brazil (BVS PSI) and Pepsic, using the following combinations of descriptors: "psychologist" & "care “hospital psychology” & “cancer patients” and “hospital psychology” & “palliative care”. Ten indexed articles, published between 2018 and 2023, were selected. The results show that the role of the hospital psychologist is extremely important in the palliative care clinic, highlighting the relevance of this role within the multidisciplinary team, in which the psychologist plays an essential role, by offer assistance and therapeutic listening to the demands generated by cancer. It was considered that the psychologist's performance has a great impact on the mental health of cancer patients and palliative care, reducing anxieties related to the complex disease that affects the body and emotions.