THE ROLE OF THE NURSE IN PALLIATIVE CARE FOR CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS IN AN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

Abstract

Nursing professionals are responsible for providing comprehensive care to critically ill patients in intensive care units. Palliative care—which requires the collaboration of a multidisciplinary team—is a therapeutic approach increasingly used to promote the quality of life for these hospitalized individuals. The objective of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of the nurse's role in the provision of palliative care to critically ill patients in intensive care units. This is a literature review based on scientific publications indexed in SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online), Bireme (Virtual Health Library), PubMed (Publisher Medline), MEDLINE (Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online), and LILACS (Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature). The search process yielded 22 articles; however, only 8 were included in this study, based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. It can be concluded that palliative care is effective in alleviating symptoms, facilitating acceptance of the end-of-life process, and providing emotional and physical comfort.