Experiences of family members of cancer patients in palliative care: a qualitative systematic review protocol.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review is to synthesize the experiences of family members of cancer patients in palliative care. INTRODUCTION: Increasingly, palliative care is the approach advocated when a life-threatening illness has been diagnosed. Cancer patients and their families, when receiving early identification, correct assessment, and treatment of pain and other problems through palliative care, report feeling supported in their illness experience. The patients and their families also describe immediate and personalized symptom management, holistic support, decision-making guidance, and preparation for the future, including the dying process and stages of grief. A growing number of studies address palliative care patients and, in particular, the central role of family in this approach. This review will synthesize qualitative research on this subject, providing recommendations to health professionals to help them better understand the experiences and needs of family members of cancer patients receiving palliative care. INCLUSION CRITERIA: The review will consider studies examining experiences of families of cancer patients in palliative care, in all types of settings and contexts. The studies will focus on qualitative data, including, but not limited to, designs such as phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, action research, qualitative descriptive, and mixed methods studies. METHODS: The review will follow the JBI methodology for systematic reviews of qualitative evidence. The search strategy will aim to locate both published and unpublished studies, in any language, with no date restrictions. Methodological quality will be evaluated using the standard JBI critical appraisal checklist for qualitative research. The findings will be pooled using the meta-aggregation approach or will be presented in narrative format. The final synthesized findings will be graded according to the ConQual approach. REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42022333937.

REVEALING THE WORLD OF ONCOLOGICAL TREATMENT THROUGH DRAMATIC THERAPEUTIC PLAY / REVELANDO EL MUNDO DEL TRATAMIENTO ONCOLÓGICO ATRAVÉS DEL JUEGO TERAPÉUTICO DRAMÁTICO / REVELANDO O MUNDO DO TRATAMENTO ONCOLÓGICO POR MEIO DO BRINQUEDO TERAPÊUTICO DRAMÁTICO

ABSTRACT This study aimed to understand the play of the preschool child undergoing oncological treatment through dramatic therapeutic play. A total of five preschool age children with cancer participated in the dramatic therapeutic play sessions, between January and May 2013. The material was analyzed using the framework of phenomenology: analysis of the structure of the phenomenon in place. The following categories emerged from the sessions: Immersing oneself in the world of the disease and the oncological treatment; and Remembering the world without the disease. The study learned that becoming ill with cancer is a process which generates pain and suffering for the child, leading her to feel small and fragile in the face of the discomforts of the numerous procedures to which she is subjected. Therapeutic play was an important resource for revealing how the child with cancer feels during the treatment, and showed the children's difficulty in interacting with the unknown, and how this difficulty makes the balance between the points of health and illness complex.

RESUMEN Dirigido a comprender el juego de los niños en edad preescolar se someten a tratamiento para el cáncer a través del juego terapéutico dramático. Realizados sesiones de juegos terapéuticos dramáticos con cinco niños con cáncer, con edades preescolar, a partir de enero a mayo 2013. Procedieron a analizar el material de acuerdo con el marco de la fenomenología: análisis de la estructura del fenómeno. Análisis de las sesiones siguientes categorías surgieron: sumergirse en el mundo del tratamiento de la enfermedad y el cáncer y recordar al mundo sin la enfermedad. El estudio detenido que enfermarse de cáncer es un proceso que el dolor y el sufrimiento para el niño, lo que lleva a sentirse pequeño y frágil en comparación con las molestias de los numerosos procedimientos que se presentan. El juego terapéutico era un recurso importante para revelar cómo el niño con cáncer se siente durante el tratamiento y mostró la dificultad de interactuar con lo desconocido, dejando a su complejo equilibrio entre momentos de salud y enfermedad.

RESUMO Objetivou-se compreender o brincar da criança pré-escolar em tratamento oncológico por meio do brinquedo terapêutico dramático. Participaram de sessões de brinquedo terapêutico dramático cinco crianças com câncer, em idade pré-escolar, de janeiro a maio de2013. Procedeu-se a análise do material conforme o referencial da fenomenologia: análise da estrutura do fenômeno situado. Das sessões emergiram as categorias: Mergulhando no mundo da doença e do tratamento oncológico; e Relembrando o mundo sem a doença. O estudo apreendeu que o adoecer com câncer é um processo gerador de dor e sofrimento para a criança, levando-a sentir-se pequena e frágil frente aos desconfortos dos inúmeros procedimentos a que é submetida. O brinquedo terapêutico foi um recurso importante para revelar como a criança com câncer se sente durante o tratamento e mostrou sua dificuldade em interagir com o desconhecido, deixando complexo seu equilíbrio entre momentos de saúde e de doença.