Brazilian publications on psychosocial aspects of childhood cancer - from 1998 to 2004

Abstract

This article is a bibliographic study that investigates the psychosocial literature on childhood cancer, produced in Brazil between 1998 and 2004. It aims to overview the frame of what is being studied and published in this area, assessing possible gaps and tendencies. Data were collected through a bibliographic survey, by means of an electronic search of indexed articles in the following databases: LILACS (Latin American Health Science Literature), Dedalus/ Sibi (Internet data base containing the University of São Paulo's collection) and Scielo (Scientific Electronic Library Online). The following key words were crossed: oncology, pediatrics, psychology, cancer and child. Fifty six publications were submitted to quantitative analysis, by grouping the aspects considered relevant, such as type of article, publication year and research type, as well as to qualitative analysis, in accordance with phenomenological psychology. Results point towards an increasing number of publications in this area and a great evolution in research focus. Tendency was found going beyond the attempt to understand the illness experiences lived by persons confronted with childhood cancer (children, families, health team and teachers) and describing a range of action possibilities that include patients and family members, involving professionals from different areas that join efforts aiming to promote children's holistic health.