Abstract:

Abstract This is a qualitative research conducted in 2019 in the city of Belém, in the state of Pará. It aims to understand the purposes of people’s occupations in palliative oncology care in a hospital context. The methods applied were: open interview with each participant and the Palliative Performance Scale. Data interpretation was performed with the assumptions of content analysis. 17 people participated, of which 13 were women. In the Palliative Performance Scale, the most prevalent score was 50 (41%). All people interviewed attributed purpose to their occupations, of which personal satisfaction and feeling healthy were the main focus before hospitalization. In hospitalization, occupational purposes became health recovery and survival/subsistence, an issue that proved lacking. Participants were able to express feelings, life stories, thoughts and habits. The occupation for individuals in a palliative context directly reflects on their quality of life, and the valorization of occupational aspects is directly associated with the relief of suffering.

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