Comfort in the last moments of life: The multidisciplinary team's perception on palliative care

Abstract

Objective: to analyze the perception of professionals of the multidisciplinary team about assistance in palliative care. Method: descriptive, qualitative study, developed in October 2017 in a hospital unit specialized in cardiopulmonary diseases located in a capital of Northeastern Brazil. The sample included 15 participants from the multidisciplinary team. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and submitted to thematic analysis. Results: from the analysis, two categories emerged: knowledge of the multidisciplinary team on palliative care and the perception of palliative care practice. The professionals have a still incipient knowledge about what palliative care is and its rogatives, in addition to the need for an effective commitment to the quality of this care. Conclusion: Although professionals recognize the need to offer comfort in the final moments of life, knowledge about palliative care is limited and, therefore, professionals perceive dilemmas when dealing with staff, patient and family.