EDUCATION FOR DEATH

THANATOLOGY TRAINING FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

Abstract

Death, this natural and inevitable event, brings with it various representations according to the historical context in which it is inserted. From the evolution of science, death came to be seen as a failure and taboo, producing feelings of anguish and fear. In this context, it is understood that the denial of this event causes intense suffering, especially for health professionals who are in direct contact with it. The scarcity of spaces that promote a theoretical-technical-emotional training on the process of death and dying, results in professionals poorly prepared to deal with situations of terminallity, which can cause psychological and physical illness and directly affect the quality of care provided to patients and their families. Therefore, this descriptive and exploratory manuscript seeks to report, from the point of view of the organizing team of a health teaching institution in Fortaleza, the experience of building a theoretical and experiential training in Thanatology for students and health professionals. We believe that the creation of this training can contribute to minimization of death’s stigma and to the qualification of health care, enabling the recognition and sharing of difficulties and potentialities when facing death and dying.