Społeczne konsekwencje choroby onkologicznej dla pacjenta i jego rodziny z perspektywy pracowników ośrodków hospicyjnych

Abstract

In research focused on the issue of increasing life quality of the oncologically ill patients the attention is paid to the need of extending it with research on life quality of families and caregivers directly looking after the patient. The close relationship of problems such as “the decreased quality of caregivers’ life, and their difficulties with adaptation to the stress of serious condition of the close person inflict, among others, their relationships, quality of care and indirectly to the quality of the patient’s life” (De Walden-Gałuszko 1994:33). This issue will be viewed from the perspective of the disease as a trajectory based on A. Strauss and J. Corbin. Their interactionist approach to the disease experience (showing the process of being ill in the categories of the actions taken by the ill person, their family and social environment) encourages to ask questions about factors that determine these particular types of actions a disease requires: managing the disease, day-to-day life and the biography. The above listed factors influence the character of the relationship with all the people from the ill person’s environment – including health professionals – requiring good coordination and many arrangements at each stage of the disease. What role in this complex process can the employees of other support institutions play?