Efeito da prece sobre a ansiedade de pacientes submetidos ao tratamento quimioterápico

Abstract

Cancer is a disease marked by feelings of fear, anguish and anxiety arising from the stigma that accompanies or suffering about their treatment. Anxiety is a present condition, especially during chemotherapy which, linked to its side effects and the hospital environment, generates a deep pain to the patient. The nurse is present and living with the patient throughout the process of diagnosis, treatment and/or rehabilitation of cancer and therefore plays an important role in the search for strategies that can minimize your anxiety and the damages resulting therefrom. One form of alternative therapy that aims to health care of the individual with cancer, in a holistic and comprehensive, is the prayer that, in turn, is a nursing intervention proposed by the Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC). Prayer is a conventional practice not recognized with no harmful effects to the body, which can be employed as adjuvant, both palliative treatment, as with chemotherapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of prayer on anxiety in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment. The methodology used was quasi-experimental with quantitative analysis and comparative data, with pre-intervention and post-intervention, conducted in the period from february to december 2012, with 25 patients on continuous intravenous chemotherapy treatment in a hospital sector. The instruments used were: questionnaire of sociodemographic, clinical and spiritual; Religiosity Index Duke University - Durel; Anxiety Inventory (IDATE) State-Trait and registration form with the values ​​of vital signs and salivary cortisol, all applied by interview by the researcher. Data collection occurred in four stages: first collection (baseline), pre-intervention, intervention and post-intervention, in which pre-intervention and post-intervention were repeated two more times. In the intervention, was applied by the researcher intercessory prayer and prayer of petition through a headset. Data analysis was performed using the statistical program BioEstat 5.0, with t test, Wilcoxon test, normality Shapiro-Wilk test, Mann-Whitney test, Pearson correlation coefficient, Spearman and Kruskal Wallis analysis of variance. The characterization of the study subjects was given by: male (75%) aged 51 to 60 years (55%), married (75%), low level of education (80%), high level of religiosity (organizational religiosity of 2,95, not organizational, 2,3 and intrinsic religiosity, 3,7). The trait anxiety was 36,2, considered medium grade. The study resulted in significant differences between the samples before and after intervention for anxiety state (<0,00), blood pressure (systolic 0,00, diastolic <000) and respiratory rate (0,04). Therefore, prayer strategy demonstrated to be effective in reducing the anxiety of the patient undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Prayer is a simple practice, free of charge, which can be used by nurses during the implementation of holistic care since it does not entail a change in routine hospital and provides benefits for the patient.