Viver com câncer no contexto rural e o cuidado do enfermeiro na atenção primária à saúde

Abstract

People with cancer living in the rural context are more vulnerable to their health conditions, which is associated with difficulty in accessing health services. Primary Health Care is part of the network of care for people with cancer, and nurses are an important protagonist of care in this area. This study aims to understand the experiences of people with cancer living in the rural context and the care provided by nurses who work in Primary Health Care in front of these people. It is characterized as a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study carried out in adjacent rural municipalities belonging to the 15th Regional Health Coordination of Rio Grande do Sul, and 11 municipalities were selected to compose the study scenario. The study participants were 18 nurses who make up the family health teams that work in the selected municipalities and 10 people with cancer who live in the rural context, obeying the criterion of thematic saturation. Data collection took place in the second half of 2023, from the semi-structured interview, with open questions. Thematic analysis was used to evaluate the data obtained. The results of the analysis of the participants' testimonies were organized into two thematic categories, the first being "Life as it is: experiences of people with cancer in the rural context", with the subcategories: "Work before illness", "The impact of diagnosis", "The importance of family, spirituality and support network" and "Positive aspects and difficult to live in the rural context". The second thematic category "Experiences of nurses working in Primary Health Care in the care of people with cancer in the rural context" with the subcategories: "Disease prevention strategies and diseases: clinical and traditional approaches"; "Health monitoring: from diagnosis to treatment", "Facilitating and limiting aspects for the care of the person with cancer in the rural context". From the results found it is possible to conclude, based on the disease prevention strategies developed by nurses, that the traditional campanhist model of health care was the target of cancer prevention actions, and that the curative care focused on the disease, is still quite rooted in the assistance provided. In general, it was possible to identify that the vulnerabilities in which people with cancer are found are not accentuated, since it is a population that lives in adjacent rural municipalities. It is suggested, therefore, new studies on the work of nurses in different rural scenarios considering the territorial extension of the country.