Perception of grief and the experience of anticipatory grief of family members in a palliative care unit

Abstract

Introduction: Antecipatory grief is described as a coping mechanism to deal with the experience of finitude in the face of the possibility of a loved one separation. Objective: Comprehend the influence of the aspects of Death and of Dying in the process of grief and antecipatory grief in family members that were present in exclusive Palliative Care Units. Methodology: This is a qualitative research of non-experimental character, exploratory and descriptive, conducted in exclusive Palliative Care Units of oncology and geriatrics of a hospital located in the Midwest region of Brazil. Results and Discussion: Around 80% of participants showed no previous knowledge about antecipatory grief, but did manifest lines that demonstrated having experienced this process at some point. Conclusion: It was observed that the lack of knowledge of the concept of antecipatory grief can interfere in the difficulty of experiencing these processes.