Cuidados Paliativos e Medicina

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Needs of End-of-Life Patient's Caregivers, in Terms of Nursing Care: Systematic Review of the Literature

César Fonseca, Teresa Rebelo, Cláudia Andrade, Paula Lopes, Tânia Franco, Dulce Rodrigues and André Antunes

Aim: This article aims to identify the needs for nursing care of end-of-life patients’ caregivers and also to enounce nursing interventions, by using a systematic review of the literature. Methodology: The PI[C]OD method has been used, and a search in EBSCO (CINALH, MEDLINE) has been conducted by using keywords and searching full texts, from 2000 until December 2010, resulting in 325 articles in total. Results: The end-of-life patients’ caregivers’ needs identified through this systematic review were: preparation for mourning, desirers’ recognition and fulfilment, communication, establishment of a trustful relationship with a sense of security, caregivers involvement in care, training, resting needs, needs for information, emotional and spiritual needs. Conclusions: Caregivers have different needs that require personal intervention from the nursing team, which is fulfilled through the establishment of a relationship based on trust, and considering that each caregiver has unique characteristics and personal attributes. The caregiver should be involved in care process, enabling knowledge and skills.