Palliative care and nursing attitudes: keys to dignified end-of-life care

Introduction: End-of-life care gained increasing relevance in the face of population aging and the increase of chronic diseases. The WHO estimated that the need for palliative care would double by 2060, highlighting the importance of the role of nurses in end-of-life care. However, deficiencies in academic training and inappropriate attitudes were identified that limited the quality of such care. Development: This review addressed fundamental concepts such as dying patient, death, palliative care and attitude. The most common attitudes towards the end of life were described: fear, denial, avoidance and acceptance. Scales used to measure these attitudes were also analyzed, such as the FATCOD, the Collet-Lester and the Revised Profile of Attitudes Toward Death (PAM-R), validated in various countries. It was found that nursing staff attitudes were influenced by cultural, educational and personal factors. In addition, barriers to empathic care were identified, such as fear of death and lack of adequate tools during professional training. Conclusions: It was concluded that nursing staff attitudes were determinant in the quality of palliative care. The review showed the need to strengthen emotional and ethical training from undergraduate level, incorporating valid assessment tools. The role of the nurse was not only focused on physical care, but also on emotional and spiritual accompaniment. Encouraging positive attitudes from the training allowed providing a more humane and dignified care at the end of life.