Odnos delovnih terapevtov do umiranja in smrti starejših oseb : diplomsko delo

Škof, Teja (author), Oven, Alenka (mentor), Sicherl, Zorana (reviewer)

Uvod: Življenjska doba se daljša in vse več je kroničnih bolezni, ki zmanjšujejo samostojnost starejših oseb in zahtevajo dolgotrajno oskrbo. Paliativna oskrba je pristop, ki izboljšuje kakovost življenja umirajočih in njihovih svojcev. Delovni terapevti uporabljajo na osebo usmerjen pristop in stremijo k ohranjanju oziroma izboljšanju kakovosti življenja v vseh obdobjih. Tisti, ki so zaposleni v domovih starejših občanov, se srečujejo tudi z umiranjem in smrtjo starejših oseb, kar povzroči različne čustvene odzive, tesnobo, stres. Namen: Raziskovali smo, kakšne izkušnje imajo in kako doživljajo umiranje in smrt starejših oseb delovni terapevti, ki so zaposleni v domovih starejših občanov. Zanimalo nas je, kakšni občutki se jim ob tem pojavljajo, kako se z umiranjem in smrtjo soočajo ter ali menijo, da imajo za to dovolj informacij in znanja. Metode dela: Izvedli smo kvalitativno raziskavo, v kateri smo podatke pridobili s polstrukturiranimi intervjuji s petimi delovnimi terapevtkami, zaposlenimi v domovih starejših občanov po Sloveniji. Podatke smo kvalitativno vsebinsko analizirali. Rezultati: Oblikovali smo tri glavne kategorije: izkušnje z umiranjem in smrtjo, doživljanje in soočanje z umiranjem in smrtjo in znanje in informacije o soočanju z umiranjem in smrtjo. Udeleženke naše raziskave smrt pojmujejo kot del življenja. Pri srečevanju z umiranjem in smrtjo najpogosteje doživljajo žalost, nemoč in olajšanje. Med obravnavo umirajočih ne občutijo nelagodja in nimajo predsodkov. Uporabljajo različne strategije soočanja z umiranjem in smrtjo, med katerimi so najpogosteje navedle pogovor. Želijo si več možnosti za pridobivanje znanja na tem področju. Razprava in zaključek: Umiranje in smrt sta še vedno tabu tema, o kateri bi morali več govoriti. Udeleženke naše raziskave menijo, da je soočanje s smrtjo za delovne terapevte, ki delajo v domovih starejših občanov, neizogibno. Čustvom, ki se ob tem pojavljajo, se ne morejo izogniti. Pomembno je, da imajo znanje in ustrezen odnos do umiranja in smrti ter ustrezne strategije spopadanja z negativnimi čustvi, čemur je v prihodnje potrebno nameniti več pozornosti. Delovni terapevti, ki bi se zaposlili na področju paliativne oskrbe starejših oseb, bi potrebovali dodatna znanja in usposabljanje. Smiselno bi bilo narediti več raziskav na to temo, kar bi delovnim terapevtom olajšalo soočanje z umiranjem in smrtjo.

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: diplomska dela, delovna terapija, konec življenja, paliativna oskrba, soočanje s smrtjo
• Work type: Bachelor thesis/paper
• Typology: 2.11 - Undergraduate Thesis
• Organization: ZF - Faculty of Health Sciences
• Place of publishing: Ljubljana
• Publisher: [T. Škof]
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: 36 str., [5] str. pril.
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-155040
• UDC: 615.851
• COBISS.SI-ID: 189192707
• Publication date in RUL: 16.03.2024

Secondary language

• Language: English
• Title: The attitude of occupational therapists to dying and death of the older adults : diploma work

Abstract

Introduction: Life expectancy is increasing and there are also more and more chronic diseases that affect the independence of older adults and require long-term care. Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of the dying and their family. Occupational therapists use a person-centred approach and strive to maintain or improve the quality of life at all stages. Those who work in elderly homes are also confronted with dying and death, which causes various emotional reactions, anxiety, and stress. Purpose: We investigated the experiences of occupational therapists working in elderly homes and how they experience the dying and death of older adults. We were also interested in what feelings they experience, how they deal with dying and death, and whether they believe they have enough information and knowledge about it. Methods: We conducted a qualitative research in which data were collected through semi-structured interviews with five female occupational therapists working in elderly homes in Slovenia. We analysed the data qualitatively. Results: Three categories emerged from the data analysis: experiences with dying and death, experiencing and coping with dying and death, and knowledge about coping with dying and death. The participants perceive death as a part of life. When they are confronted with dying and death, the most common experiences are sadness, helplessness and relief. They feel no discomfort and have no prejudices when dealing with the dying. They use different strategies to cope with dying and death, the most common of which is talking. They want more opportunities to acquire knowledge in this area. Discussion and conclusion: Dying and death are often still a taboo subject that should be talked about more. Participants of our research believe that confrontation with death is inevitable for occupational therapists working in elderly homes. They cannot avoid the emotions associated with it. It is important that they have knowledge and an appropriate attitude towards dying and death, as well as suitable strategies for dealing with negative emotions, which must be given more attention in the future. Occupational therapists working in the field of palliative care of older adults need additional skills and training. It would be useful to conduct research on this topic, which would make it easier for occupational therapists to deal with dying and death.

• Keywords: diploma theses, occupational therapy, end of life, palliative care, dealing with death