Knowledge and practices on communicating difficult news in a multidisciplinary health residency
Communication. Revelation of the truth. Residence.
Communicating difficult news is defined as information that severely modifies the perspective that the patient has about their future life in view of the delicate health situation in which they find themselves, emphasizing that this type of communication is something that is part of the routine of health professionals. health. In this context, the general objective was to analyze the knowledge and practices about the communication of difficult news from a multidisciplinary health residency in a public teaching hospital. This is a descriptive study with a qualitative approach of the case study type, with an exploratory characteristic. The information produced was based on a focus group comprising 11 residents of the Multidisciplinary Residency for Adult and Elderly Health (RMSAA), and the data obtained in light of the content analysis of Bardin and Malheiros in the composition of three analytical categories: 1) Meanings of the process of communicating bad news and leading the action; 2) Learning and practical experience; and 3) Challenge in dealing with emotions and the relevance of efficient communication. With the results obtained, we can verify that there are difficulties of multidisciplinary health residents in understanding what could be bad news, always associating it with deaths and terminal illnesses, as well as this responsibility to communicate does not belong to a single professional. There is a clear need for professionals to acquire experience, know methods that teach the art of communicating difficult news, and that this is something very important and challenging for the multidisciplinary team. And, the biggest challenge faced with a difficult news communication is the emotional issue. It is perceived that the topic of communicating bad news deserves a greater focus on health services. We believe that the results of this research may contribute to arouse the need for discussion on the topic in the education of students and health professionals, enabling them to deal more efficiently with this reality. And, finally, as an educational product proposal based on the results found in this study, an educational video and a mini ebook were built in order to discuss the topic of communicating difficult news.