Bioethical aspects of the finitude of life in the palliative care approach

Death is understood individually according to experiences, emotions and spirituality. Deaths is usually surrounded by negative feelings such as fear, anguish and pain. With the advance of medicine, it has come to be seen as a process that can be postponed and prolonged, which has made it even more difficult to accept the impossibility of a cure and the proximity of the end of life. In this context, the palliative care team is fundamental to alleviating the suffering of patients and their families. To discuss the understanding of death and facilitate the approach to palliative care, a qualitative study was carried out by applying an online questionnaire to 80 adult family members of medical students at the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná, Londrina campus. Excel tables were created to analyze the data. The importance of the multidisciplinary nature of the palliative care team was highlighted, as well as the need to individualize its approach.

Bioethics; Death; Palliative care