Browsing by Author "Pereira, Sandra M."
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- Burnout in nurses working in Portuguese palliative care teams: a mixed methods studyPublication . Pereira, Sandra M.; Fonseca, António M.; Carvalho, Ana Sofia
- Risk of burnout and protective factors in palliative carePublication . Pereira, Sandra M.; Fonseca, António M.Burnout refers to a loss of energy that usually happens when the person feels ‘burned’, either in physical or psychological terms. A burned out person evidences signs of distress in his/her daily behaviour, and it comes to be almost impossible to perform normally due to fatigue. The contact with death, dying and human suffering is commonly described as one of the risk factors for burnout development. Complementarily, palliative care practice implies ethical decision making related to end-of-life dilemmas, which may be complex and demanding. Therefore, the provision of palliative care may lead health care providers to physical, psychological and emotional exhaustion and it is possible that burnout occurs. Despite this fact, studies about burnout in palliative care show low levels of burnout, especially when compared with the results obtained in other health care settings. These results converge with those found in a study about professional caregiver burnout carried out in Portuguese palliative care units. We realized that one of the protective factors referred by Portuguese professionals was the attribution of a meaningful sense to death, dying and suffering. This sense and the definition of active strategies and rituals after death helped professionals to deal with the loss of the patient.
- Working family carers in Portugal: between the duty and the burden of caring for old vulnerable peoplePublication . Fonseca, António M.; Gonçalves, Daniela C.; Pereira, Sandra M.This paper intends to reflect on some of the predominant traits of caring for older vulnerable people in Portugal, where the most common care model is a mix of informal home-based provision and support from the public and private sectors. We shall address some issues concerning the risks and limits of informal caretaking of older dependent people based on a case study of a woman who has to fulfil multiple roles, pushing her to the limit of her ability to cope. Evidence indicates that solutions to the challenges of caring for an ageing population, especially those in a vulnerable condition, require a consideration of material, social, cultural, and psychological measures. On the basis of the nature of the links between these areas, the quality of the care provided and the consequences for the working family carers, we can define standards of caring solutions for older people and hence derive policies for preventive and optimized interventions. Our final aim is to emphasize the importance of palliative care settings to improve the quality of life and minimize the suffering of both older people and their carers.