Religiosity in the work of cancer care nurses and its meaning from the perspective of collective subject discourse

Abstract

Religion can serve as an instrument to motivate and support health professionals in the development and improvement of their technical skills with patients. The current study focused on the significance of religious faith in routine work by nurses and the meaning they ascribe to religious faith in the treatment and lives of elderly cancer patients. The research was descriptive, with a qualitative approach, based on a non-random sample of 10 nurses. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview from January to March 2001 in a public hospital in São Paulo. The research instrument was a form that had been previously tested and approved by the Research Ethics Committee. The collective subject discourse (CSD) technique was used to organize and analyze the data. The discursive material provided six central ideas pertaining to religious faith: 1) a source of energy, the driving force in daily life; 2) belief in something; 3) respect for others; 4) people drawing closer to God at the most critical times; 5) cure is unlikely without God; 6) when patients are aware of their diagnosis, they tend to accept it; and 7) when they aren't aware, they rebel. In the collective discourse of nurses, religious faith appears as a source of energy that strengthens and motivates them during their workday. From the nurses' perspective, there should be synergy between faith and treatment in order to benefit elderly patients, and faith can help the elderly adopt a more serene attitude towards their medical treatment.