Prevalência e características das experiências espirituais no final da vida por meio de relatos de profissionais de saúde que atuam com pacientes fora de possibilidade curativa

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Spiritual end-of-life experiences (ELEs) and deathbed phenomena are often reported in an anecdotal fashion. Few studies however, have systematically assessed these experiences. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to compare the characteristics and prevalence of ELEs as reported by health professionals at different institutions (palliative care, nursing homes and oncology hospital) and to assess the influence of religious beliefs on these reports. METHODS: A multi-center study was conducted at Nursing Homes (NH) in Juiz de Fora and at the Hospital de Câncer de Barretos (Oncology-ONC and Palliative Care-PC Unit) in Brazil. Sociodemographic data, ELE reports (Fenwick´s questionnaire), religiosity (DUREL), spirituality (SRSS) and mental health (DASS 21) were assessed. The analysis was performed using the ANOVA and Chi-square tests. RESULTS: A total of 133 health professionals (46 ONC, 36 PC and 51 NH) were interviewed, 70% of whom had ELEs reported to them in the past 5 years. The main ELEs reported were “visions of dead relatives collecting the dying person“ (n=82, 88.2%), “a desire to mend family rifts” (n=79, 84.9%) and “dead relatives near the bed who provide emotional comfort” (n=75, 80.6%). The majority of the health professionals (70-80%) believed these experiences had spiritual significance and were not due to biological conditions. Comparison among the groups revealed that the PC had more reports than the other groups

and also greater openness on the issue and more interest in training. Individual religious beliefs had no relevant influence on the perception of ELEs. CONCLUSION: The study revealed a high prevalence of ELEs reported by health professionals, who believed these experiences were spiritual. Although prevalent in all of the institutions, greater ELEs, openness at their institution and desire for training were reported by palliative care professionals. Religious and spiritual beliefs had little influence on ELEs reported by the health professionals, indicating this was not a factor determining the perception of ELEs.