SOCIAL REPRESENTATIONS OF ADOLESCENTS ON THE PROCESS OF HAVING CANCER

Purpose: To describe the social representations of adolescents about the cancer disease process. Method: A descriptive study with a qualitative approach, based on the Theory of Social Representations, conducted with 31 adolescents undergoing cancer treatment in a public hospital in Belém do Pará. The study was performed with individual interviews, submitted to inductive thematic analysis. Results: Three thematic categories were identified: cancer as a psychosocial disease; the experience of falling ill and suffering cancer; and coping with the body changes resulting from the disease. Conclusion: The study contributed to the understanding of the social representations about cancer in adolescence, supporting the nurse in the construction of knowledge with the adolescent with cancer, for a better quality care.

Abstract licence: CC BY

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