Assistance to children in palliative care in the Brazilian scientific literature

Abstract

Objective: To describe what has been published in Brazilian scientific literature regarding pediatric palliative care. Data sources: Bibliographic review with a descriptive approach. In LILACS and SciELO databases, the descriptors "palliative care", "child", "pediatrics", "terminal illness" and "death" were sought, from January 2002 to December 2011. The eight selected articles were analyzed according to year of publication, type of study, data collected, target population, pathology, professionals involved, types of care and main findings. Data synthesis: Regarding the year of publication, there was an increase in the number of publications related to pediatric palliative care. Regarding the type of study, four articles were literature reviews and four were qualitative researches. Data was collected mainly by semi-structured interviews. The participants of the majority of the studies were children's relatives and health professionals. The main pathology addressed was cancer and the nurses were the most frequently cited professionals. The types of care provided were related to physical aspects, general care and psychological, social and spiritual aspects (less emphasis). The main findings were: little emphasis on the children's needs, the importance of including the family in the care provided and the lack of preparation of the health team. Conclusions: Despite the difficulties and the challenges in establishing pediatric palliative care, many articles brought important considerations for the development of this practice in the country.

Therapeutic limitation for children: a systematic review on end-of-life

“…Therapeutic limitation for children: a systematic review on end-of-life education are of paramount importance for health professionals, because it was also found that they struggle with issues related to the care of the family, of the child and of themselves, because there is too much physical and psychological wear and tear 38 .…”

Limitación terapéutica para niños: una revisión sistemática sobre el final de la vida

“…Es esencial, ante la complejidad de los cuidados al final de la vida, que se aborden los cuidados paliativos en oncología pediátrica durante los estudios de grado de los profesionales sanitarios, además de analizar todas las cuestiones éticas y humanas involucradas en ese proceso 37 . Por lo tanto, la capacitación y formación continua son de extrema importancia para estos profesionales, ya que también se constató la dificultad que tenían en tratar asuntos relacionados con la atención a la familia, el menor y de sí mismos, debido al excesivo desgaste físico y psíquico 38 .…”

Limitação terapêutica para crianças: revisão sistemática sobre final de vida

“…Assim, capacitação e educação continuada são de suma importância para profissionais da área da saúde. Pois também se constatou sua dificuldade em lidar com questões relacionadas ao cuidado com a família, com a criança e consigo mesmo, por haver demasiado desgaste físico e psicológico 38 .…”