Percepção e Enfrentamento do Psicossomático na Relação Médico-Paciente / Perceiving and Facing the Psychosomatic in the Physician-Patient Relationship

RESUMO Com o objetivo de compreender a vivência de médicos no atendimento a pacientes psicossomáticos, foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa e fenomenológica com quatro profissionais da medicina. A compreensão das entrevistas mostra que as condutas perfazem um percurso iniciado por um diagnóstico, seguido de uma mobilização pessoal que os conduz a tentativas de reorganizar a relação médico-paciente e a utilizar algumas terapêuticas, bem como demonstram seu despreparo na abordagem do tema. Esse percurso é compreendido de acordo com o modelo biomédico que rege as concepções e práticas apreendidas desde a graduação. No entanto, essa formação gera dificuldades no manejo de aspectos psicológicos, e não apenas dos referidos como elementos psicogênicos do adoecimento, típicos das compreensões psicossomáticas. Evidencia-se uma aprendizagem médica em que se dá mais atenção à doença do que ao ser que adoece.

ABSTRACT With the objective to understand the medical experience in attending psychosomatic patients, a qualitative and phenomenological research was carried on with four doctors. The comprehension of their reports shows that their conduct makes a course beginning at the diagnostic, followed by a personal mobilization which leads them to reorganize their relations with the patients and the offered therapeutics, as also how they reveal their lack of qualification to approach this subject. This course is understood in accordance with the biomedical model referred as the regent of their conceptions and practices, since medical undergraduate education. However, this formation brings them difficulties to manage the psychological aspects, not only the psychogenic ones related to the sickness, typical from psychosomatics comprehensions. It is evidenced a medical learning in which it is given more attention to illness than to human experience.

The phenomenological-existential comprehension of chronic pain: going beyond the standing healthcare models.

A distinguishing characteristic of the biomedical model is its compartmentalized view of man. This way of seeing human beings has its origin in Greek thought; it was stated by Descartes and to this day it still considers humans as beings composed of distinct entities combined into a certain form. Because of this observation, one began to believe that the focus of a health treatment could be exclusively on the affected area of the body, without the need to pay attention to patient's subjectivity. By seeing pain as a merely sensory response, this model was not capable of encompassing chronic pain, since the latter is a complex process that can occur independently of tissue damage. As of the second half of the twentieth century, when it became impossible to deny the relationship between psyche and soma, the current understanding of chronic pain emerges: that of chronic pain as an individual experience, the result of a sum of physical, psychological, and social factors that, for this reason, cannot be approached separately from the individual who expresses pain. This understanding has allowed a significant improvement in perspective, emphasizing the characteristic of pain as an individual experience. However, the understanding of chronic pain as a sum of factors corresponds to the current way of seeing the process of falling ill, for its conception holds a Cartesian duality and the positivist premise of a single reality. For phenomenology, on the other hand, the individual in his/her unity is more than a simple sum of parts. Phenomenology sees a human being as an intending entity, in which body, mind, and the world are intertwined and constitute each other mutually, thus establishing the human being's integral functioning. Therefore, a real understanding of the chronic pain process would only be possible from a phenomenological point of view at the experience lived by the individual who expresses and communicates pain.

Emoção e soma (des)conectadas em páginas de revista: as categorias temáticas do discurso prescritivo sobre os fenômenos da vida e da doença / Emotion and soma (dis)connected in magazine pages: the thematic categories of the prescriptive discourse on phenomena of life and illness

As revistas vendidas nas bancas têm se tornado textos de autoajuda e o estudo de suas matérias possibilita compreender como seus discursos são construídos, como se tornam repertórios utilizados para dar sentido à vida. No caso das revistas que versam sobre a esfera da saúde, que prescrevem receitas de tratamento, prevenção e até estilos de vida saudáveis, os estudos permitem compreender os significados dos discursos sobre corpo e saúde. Em algumas matérias, por vezes o destaque dado ao físico se faz acompanhar da inserção de aspectos mentais. Tal fato originou o presente estudo que tem por objetivo clarificar como esta conexão mente e corpo é conceituada e prescrita nessas páginas. Seis matérias de uma revista brasileira de saúde, publicadas entre agosto de 2005 e fevereiro de 2006, foram analisadas quanto ao conteúdo dos textos e ao destaque gráfico e textual. Considerou-se significativo o formato em que esta mídia opera, pois associado às categorias temáticas: autodiagnóstico, o lugar das emoções, as prescrições e a causalidade reforça estilos de vida saudáveis. Para tanto o leitor deve aprender a se autodiagnosticar e controlar suas emoções, consideradas contrapostas ao físico. As matérias delineiam um campo de saúde em que a cisão mente corpo se adensa e se prolonga, instaurando a medicalização da sociedade.

Magazines sold on newsstands have become self-help texts, and the study of the topics covered makes it possible to understand how the discourses are constructed, how they become repositories used to give meaning to life. In the case of magazines that deal with the sphere of health, prescribing methods of treatment, prevention and even healthy lifestyles, the studies allow us to understand the meanings of discourses about body and health. In some articles, the emphasis that sometimes highlights the physical aspect is accompanied by the inclusion of mental aspects. This fact gave rise to this study, which seeks to clarify how this mind-body connection is conceptualized and prescribed in these pages. Six articles of a Brazilian health magazine published between August 2005 and February 2006 were analyzed regarding the content of the texts as well as graphic and textual features. The way this media format operates was considered significant, and when associated with the themes: self-diagnosis, the place of emotion, the prescriptions and causality reinforce healthy lifestyles. Readers must learn to self-diagnose and control their emotions, considered to be juxtaposed to the physical emotions. The articles outline a field of health in which the mind-body split deepens and extends, establishing the medicalization of society.

[Emotion and soma (dis)connected in magazine pages: the thematic categories of the prescriptive discourse on phenomena of life and illness]. / Emoção e soma (des)conectadas em páginas de revista: as categorias temáticas do discurso prescritivo sobre os fenômenos da vida e da doença.

Magazines sold on newsstands have become self-help texts, and the study of the topics covered makes it possible to understand how the discourses are constructed, how they become repositories used to give meaning to life. In the case of magazines that deal with the sphere of health, prescribing methods of treatment, prevention and even healthy lifestyles, the studies allow us to understand the meanings of discourses about body and health. In some articles, the emphasis that sometimes highlights the physical aspect is accompanied by the inclusion of mental aspects. This fact gave rise to this study, which seeks to clarify how this mind-body connection is conceptualized and prescribed in these pages. Six articles of a Brazilian health magazine published between August 2005 and February 2006 were analyzed regarding the content of the texts as well as graphic and textual features. The way this media format operates was considered significant, and when associated with the themes: self-diagnosis, the place of emotion, the prescriptions and causality reinforce healthy lifestyles. Readers must learn to self-diagnose and control their emotions, considered to be juxtaposed to the physical emotions. The articles outline a field of health in which the mind-body split deepens and extends, establishing the medicalization of society.

Os primeiros passos no processo de tornar-se psicoterapeuta sob o referencial da abordagem centrada na pessoa / The first steps in the process of becoming a psychotherapist under the reference of the person centered approach

O processo de tornar-se psicoterapeuta, segundo os princípios da AbordagemCentrada na Pessoa (ACP), não é algo que ocorra com a aprendizagemda graduação, demanda muito mais prática do que a oferecida durante estecurso; é nas clínicas escola que o estudante começa a trilhar seu caminho.O presente trabalho teve como objetivo compreender como se dava o processode tornar-se psicoterapeuta de alunos do último ano de um curso depsicologia, em uma universidade privada do estado de São Paulo, Brasil,descrevendo parte de sua experiência e seus significados, reconhecendo ossentimentos vivenciados ao longo do processo. O material de estudo foi oregistro escrito do sentido de cada uma das sessões realizadas, nomeadopor Versões de Sentido (VS). Os textos das VS foram analisados em acordoaos princípios da metodologia fenomenológica. Observou-se que o momentovivido por esses estudantes compreendia quatro fases distintas: angústia,compreensão, retrocesso e separação, sendo cada uma delas repleta deespecificidades, e foi fomentado o questionamento de se estas seriam “fasesde um psicoterapeuta iniciante” ou “fases com um cliente iniciante”.

Os primeiros passos no processo de tornar-se psicoterapeuta sob o referencial da Abordagem Centrada na Pessoa / The first steps in the process of becoming a psychotherapist under the reference of the Person Centered Approach

O processo de tornar-se psicoterapeuta, segundo os princípios da AbordagemCentrada na Pessoa (ACP), não é algo que ocorra com a aprendizagemda graduação, demanda muito mais prática do que a oferecida durante estecurso; é nas clínicas escola que o estudante começa a trilhar seu caminho.O presente trabalho teve como objetivo compreender como se dava o processode tornar-se psicoterapeuta de alunos do último ano de um curso depsicologia, em uma universidade privada do estado de São Paulo, Brasil,descrevendo parte de sua experiência e seus significados, reconhecendo ossentimentos vivenciados ao longo do processo. O material de estudo foi oregistro escrito do sentido de cada uma das sessões realizadas, nomeadopor Versões de Sentido (VS). Os textos das VS foram analisados em acordoaos princípios da metodologia fenomenológica. Observou-se que o momentovivido por esses estudantes compreendia quatro fases distintas: angústia,compreensão, retrocesso e separação, sendo cada uma delas repleta deespecificidades, e foi fomentado o questionamento de se estas seriam “fasesde um psicoterapeuta iniciante” ou “fases com um cliente iniciante”.(AU)

General hospital admission as an opportunity for smoking-cessation strategies: a clinical trial in Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the results of 6-month follow-ups for hospitalized patients who were divided into two groups of low- and high-intensity treatments for smoking cessation and compared to the results of standard hospital treatment. METHODS: A total of 2414 patients were screened. Two hundred thirty-seven current smokers were randomly assigned to high-intensity intervention (HII; 30-min motivational interview plus seven routine telephone calls after hospital discharge) or to low-intensity intervention (LII; 15-min counseling about the benefits of quitting) and 80 comprised the usual care (UC) group. Six months after hospital discharge, all participants were contacted by phone. The main outcome measure was smoking cessation. RESULTS: The smoking-cessation rates were 44.9%, 41.7% and 26.3% for the HII, LII and UC groups, respectively (P = .03). The multivariable analysis identified the following variables which are associated with the failure to stop smoking: the absence of a tobacco-related disease (TRD), younger age and a low motivation for cessation at the initial contact. CONCLUSIONS: There was a great difference between intervention and nonintervention. The LII had an impact similar to the HII. The variables associated with no smoking cessation demonstrate the need for more personalized interventions for smokers who present lower indexes of motivation, are younger and do not have smoking-related diseases.

Depression, alcohol use disorders and nicotine dependence among patients at a general hospital / Depressão, transtornos decorrentes do uso de álcool e dependência de nicotina no hospital geral

OBJECTIVE: To determine prevalence rates and identify patient characteristics associated with depression, alcohol use disorders and nicotine dependence among individuals admitted to a general teaching hospital. METHOD: Using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, we assessed 4,352 consecutive medical and surgical patients admitted over a 13-month period. The patients were also asked to report their daily cigarette smoking habits during the last month. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed, and odds ratios (ORs) were calculated. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 49.3 years, and 56.6 percent were male. Prevalence rates of depression, alcohol use disorders and nicotine dependence were, respectively, 14 percent, 9.8 percent and 16.9 percent. In the multivariate analysis, depression was associated with previous suicide attempts (OR = 8.7), lower level of education (OR = 3.6), prior use of psychotropic medications (OR = 3.1), cancer (OR = 1.7) and pain (OR = 1.7). Alcohol use disorders were associated with male sex (OR = 6.3), smoking (OR = 3.5), admission for an external cause of injury, such as a traffic accident (OR = 2.4), and previous suicide attempts (OR = 2.3). Nicotine dependence was associated with alcohol use disorders (OR = 3.4), young adulthood (OR = 2.3), widowhood (OR = 2.2) and previous suicide attempts (OR = 1.8). CONCLUSION: This is the largest sample of medical and surgical patients ever surveyed with standardized screening instruments in a general hospital in Brazil. The high prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders and the profiles of the patients evaluated in this study underscore the need to develop methods that are more effective for detecting and managing such disorders. Hospital admission should be considered a major opportunity for the detection of psychiatric disorders and the subsequent implementation of the appropriate specific treatment strategies.

OBJETIVO: Identificar taxas de prevalência e perfis de pacientes associados a depressão, transtornos por uso de álcool e dependência de nicotina em indivíduos internados em um hospital geral universitário. MÉTODO: 4.352 pacientes internados consecutivamente foram avaliados pelas escalas Hospital Anxiety and Depression e Alcohol use Disorder Identification Test. Eles também foram questionados sobre uso diário de cigarros ao longo do último mês. Análises de regressão logística múltipla foram realizadas. RESULTADOS: 56,6 por cento eram de sexo masculino, e a média de idade foi de 49,3 anos. As taxas de prevalência de depressão, transtornos por uso de álcool e dependência de nicotina foram, respectivamente, 14 por cento, 9,8 por cento e 16,9 por cento. Na análise multivariada, depressão associou-se a tentativa prévia de suicídio (OR = 8,7), menor escolaridade (3,6), uso prévio de psicofármacos (3,1), câncer (1,7) e dor (1,7). Transtornos por uso de álcool associaram-se a sexo masculino (OR = 6,3), tabagismo (3,5), internação por uma causa externa (2,4), notadamente acidentes automobilísticos, e tentativa prévia de suicídio (2,3). A dependência de nicotina associou-se a transtornos por uso de álcool (OR = 3,4), idade adulta jovem (2,3), viuvez (2,2) e tentativa prévia de suicídio (1,8). CONCLUSÃO: Esta é a maior amostra de pacientes clínicos e cirúrgicos, internados num hospital geral brasileiro, avaliados com instrumentos padronizados. Houve considerável prevalência de transtornos mentais, e os respectivos perfis dos pacientes enfatizam a necessidade de se desenvolver métodos mais eficientes de detecção e de manejo desses transtornos. A internação hospitalar deveria ser tomada como um marco na vida de uma pessoa, a partir do qual se detecta um transtorno psiquiátrico e estratégias específicas de tratamento são implementadas.

Depression, alcohol use disorders and nicotine dependence among patients at a general hospital.

OBJECTIVE: To determine prevalence rates and identify patient characteristics associated with depression, alcohol use disorders and nicotine dependence among individuals admitted to a general teaching hospital. METHOD: Using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, we assessed 4,352 consecutive medical and surgical patients admitted over a 13-month period. The patients were also asked to report their daily cigarette smoking habits during the last month. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed, and odds ratios (ORs) were calculated. RESULTS: The mean age of the sample was 49.3 years, and 56.6% were male. Prevalence rates of depression, alcohol use disorders and nicotine dependence were, respectively, 14%, 9.8% and 16.9%. In the multivariate analysis, depression was associated with previous suicide attempts (OR = 8.7), lower level of education (OR = 3.6), prior use of psychotropic medications (OR = 3.1), cancer (OR = 1.7) and pain (OR = 1.7). Alcohol use disorders were associated with male sex (OR = 6.3), smoking (OR = 3.5), admission for an external cause of injury, such as a traffic accident (OR = 2.4), and previous suicide attempts (OR = 2.3). Nicotine dependence was associated with alcohol use disorders (OR = 3.4), young adulthood (OR = 2.3), widowhood (OR = 2.2) and previous suicide attempts (OR = 1.8). CONCLUSION: This is the largest sample of medical and surgical patients ever surveyed with standardized screening instruments in a general hospital in Brazil. The high prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders and the profiles of the patients evaluated in this study underscore the need to develop methods that are more effective for detecting and managing such disorders. Hospital admission should be considered a major opportunity for the detection of psychiatric disorders and the subsequent implementation of the appropriate specific treatment strategies.

Factors associated with suicide ideation among medically and surgically hospitalized patients.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the factors associated with suicide ideation among medically and surgically hospitalized patients. METHODS: A consecutive sample of 4328 individuals admitted to a general hospital completed a screening questionnaire comprised of demographic and clinical information, the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview item on current suicide ideation, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale subscale for depression and the Alcohol use Disorder Identification Test. A multiple logistic regression produced a discriminate profile of individuals with suicide ideation. RESULTS: The prevalence rate for current suicide ideation was 4.9% (95% CI: 4.3-5.6). Patients admitted to the Infectious Disease, Oncology and Hematology units presented higher rates of suicide ideation (7.9%, 7.8% and 7.2%, respectively). Suicidal ideation was associated to depression [odds ratio (OR)=8.3], young age (18-35 years old: OR=2.5), alcohol use disorders (OR=2.3), and smoking (OR=1.8). CONCLUSION: Suicidal ideation was consistently associated with indicators of mental disorders. It is proxy, not for completed suicide, but for a variety of common psychiatric conditions that can and should be dealt with in the medical/surgical setting.

[Depression and suicidal behavior of cancer inpatients: prevalence and associated factors]. / Depressão e comportamento suicida em pacientes oncológicos hospitalizados: prevalência e fatores associados.

OBJECTIVE: To determine prevalence rates of depression and suicidal behavior among cancer inpatients and factors associated with these conditions. METHODS: A total of 5357 patients consecutively admitted to a university hospital were assessed by means of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) and the suicide risk section of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Univariate analyses adjusted for gender and age groups were performed with depression and suicide risk as dependent variables. RESULTS: Of those assessed, 675 had cancer. The prevalence rates for depression and suicide risk were 18.3% (95%CI = 15.4 - 21.4) and 4.7% (95%CI = 3.2 - 6.7) respectively. Depression was more frequently found in cancer bearers than in the other inpatients (13.2%; p = 0.0009). Female gender, low schooling level, long time of disease, pain, use of psychotropic drugs and suicide risk were associated with depression (p < 0.05). Pain and depression were associated with suicide risk. CONCLUSION: Because prevalence rates of depression and suicide risk are high among cancer inpatients, simple screening instruments and specific questions during interviews are needed to detect these clinical conditions.

Depressão e comportamento suicida em pacientes oncológicos hospitalizados: prevalência e fatores associados / Depression and suicidal behavior of cancer inpatients: prevalence and associated factors

OBJETIVO: Determinar as prevalências de depressão e de comportamento suicida em indivíduos com câncer internados em um hospital geral universitário e fatores associados a essas condições. MÉTODOS: O rastreamento de 5357 pacientes consecutivamente internados utilizou a Escala Hospitalar de Ansiedade e Depressão (HAD) e a seção comportamento suicida do Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Análises univariadas, com ajustes para sexo e faixa etária, foram feitas tomando-se depressão e comportamento suicida como variáveis dependentes. RESULTADOS: Nos 675 pacientes com câncer, a prevalência de depressão foi 18,3 por cento (IC95 por cento = 15,4 - 21,4). O risco para suicídio estimado pela respectiva seção do MINI foi de 4,7 por cento (IC95 por cento = 3,2 - 6,7). A prevalência de depressão foi maior entre pacientes com câncer do que nos demais pacientes internados (13,2 por cento; p = 0,0009). Associaram-se à depressão (p < 0,05): sexo feminino, menor escolaridade, maior tempo da doença, dor, uso de psicofármaco e risco de suicídio. Associaram-se ao risco de suicídio: dor e depressão. CONCLUSÃO: As prevalências de depressão e de risco de suicídio em pacientes com câncer aconselham o uso de instrumentos simples de rastreamento e a inclusão, na anamnese, de perguntas mais específicas sobre essas condições clínicas.

OBJECTIVE: To determine prevalence rates of depression and suicidal behavior among cancer inpatients and factors associated with these conditions. METHODS: A total of 5357 patients consecutively admitted to a university hospital were assessed by means of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) and the suicide risk section of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Univariate analyses adjusted for gender and age groups were performed with depression and suicide risk as dependent variables. RESULTS: Of those assessed, 675 had cancer. The prevalence rates for depression and suicide risk were 18.3 percent (95 percentCI = 15.4 - 21.4) and 4.7 percent (95 percentCI = 3.2 - 6.7) respectively. Depression was more frequently found in cancer bearers than in the other inpatients (13.2 percent; p = 0.0009). Female gender, low schooling level, long time of disease, pain, use of psychotropic drugs and suicide risk were associated with depression (p < 0.05). Pain and depression were associated with suicide risk. CONCLUSION: Because prevalence rates of depression and suicide risk are high among cancer inpatients, simple screening instruments and specific questions during interviews are needed to detect these clinical conditions.

Tentativa de suicídio entre pacientes com uso nocivo de bebidas alcoólicas internados em hospital geral / Suicide attempt amongst patients with alcohol misuse admitted to a general hospital

OBJETIVO: Detectar fatores associados a histórico de tentativa de suicídio (TS) em pacientes internados em hospital geral que fazem uso nocivo de bebidas alcoólicas. MÉTODO: 4.352 pacientes admitidos consecutivamente foram avaliados utilizando-se um rastreamento do qual constavam as escalas AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test) e HAD (Escala Hospitalar de Ansiedade e Depressão). Fixando-se histórico de tentativa de suicídio ao longo da vida como variável dependente, foram realizados testes do qui-quadrado e regressão logística múltipla. RESULTADOS: Uso nocivo de álcool (AUDIT > 8) foi detectado em 423 pacientes. Dentre eles, 60 (14,2 por cento) apresentavam sintomas de depressão (HAD > 8) e 34 (8 por cento) tinham histórico de TS. Este se associou a ser adulto jovem [razão de chance (RC) = 3,4], depressão (RC = 6,6), uso pregresso de psicofármaco (RC = 7) e ter SIDA (RC = 24). CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados fortalecem a necessidade de detectar e tratar adequadamente condições que, combinadas, aumentam consideravelmente o risco de suicídio.

OBJECTIVE: To detect factors associated to previous suicide attempt among patients admitted to a general hospital who presented harmful alcohol drinking pattern. METHOD: 4.352 patients consecutively admitted were screened by means of the AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test) and HAD (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale). Qui-squared tests and multiple logistic regression were performed. RESULTS: 423 individuals presented alcohol harmful use or dependence (AUDIT > 8), 60 (14.2 percent) of which had depression (HAD > 8) and 34 (8 percent) previous suicide attempt. The latter was more frequent among young adults [odds ratio (OR) = 3.4], those who were depressed (OR = 6.6), had previously taken psychotropic medicines (OR = 7) and had AIDS (OR = 24). CONCLUSION: Our findings reinforce the need for detection and adequate treatment of conditions that, when together, strongly increase the suicide risk.