Nursing care in electroconvulsive therapy in a Brazilian institution before the Psychiatric Reform

Abstract

Background: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a part of Brazilian Nursing History that needs to be known to understand the evolution of knowledge and practice following the Psychiatric Reform.

Objective: To identify nursing care for inpatients undergoing ECT at a Brazilian psychiatric institution between 1980 and 1990.

Methodology: Social-historical study based on written documents from a Brazilian psychiatric institution and oral statements from nursing professionals, analyzed according to Foucault’s framework.

Results: Nursing care was defined based on everyday experiences and provided before, during, and after ECT. Nursing professionals had no professional training. They acted autonomously, administering ECT to calm agitated patients, or accompanied physicians’ interventions, providing care to reduce the side effects of ECT.

Conclusion: Despite being part of the asylum-style care model, ECT included nursing care to avoid unwanted effects. Nursing professionals witnessed the decline of ECT in society. The present study describes aspects of ECT that are inconsistent with today’s practice.