PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSISTANCE FOR END-OF-LIFE PATIENTS UNDER PALLIATIVE CARE IN THE HOSPITAL ENVIRONMENT: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

[...]care actions targeting patients and their relatives are carried out to contemplate all terminal disease stages, providing relief from suffering, avoiding futile measures, emphasizing patients' interest and respecting their feelings and wishes of their relatives, and promoting adequate communication between patients, relatives, and health care teams.1 Multiprofessional health teams deal with the possibility of death in the daily routine of PC workers, which involves patients, family members, and health care teams, requiring that specialized care be delivered in accordance with their psychological dimension. Considering the importance of the psychological aspects of the PC delivered to terminal patients and the need for studies that seek to broaden the understanding of the subject, the following guiding question emerged: "What is known in the scientific literature about the performance of psychologists assisting terminal patients under PC?" Hence, this study sought to analyze scientific publications on the role of psychologists in providing assistance for terminal patients under PC. [...]15 articles composed the final sample. To extract data from the articles included in this review, an instrument with the following items was used: article modality, keywords/descriptors, article title, authors, language, objectives, study approach (qualitative or quantitative approach), group/population, research setting, results, and conclusions.