PALLIATIVE CARE IN NEONATOLOGY: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Palliative care measures are put into practice when the patient is in a situation of serious illness, in which cure is no longer a reality. However, when it comes to palliative care measures in neonates, these measures can be used in situations where a cure is still possible. Thus, the approach improves the quality of life of newborns facing some kind of life-threatening problem or illness. The current study aims to describe and discuss the main challenges faced by doctors who make up a multidisciplinary palliative care team in neonatology. The current research is an integrative review, descriptive and qualitative approach. It can be seen, then, that the difficulties that professionals face in implementing palliative care in neonatal care are varied, but for the most part they are directly related to the fragile psychological state of the parents, which demands a sensitivity on the part of doctors that is difficult to be trained. In addition, the psychological follow-up of the team is extremely important to establish the confidence of professionals, ensuring better quality of their services. In any case, the study does not aim to end discussions on the proposed questions, but, who knows, to offer new subsidies for interested researchers.