The purpose was to identify needs for nursing care of caregiver of the person in the terminal stage and nursing interventions, using a systematic review of the literature. A research in EBSCO and ProQuest and sought Full Text scientific articles, published between 1998 and 2008, using the following keywords: "Palliative care", "Family", "Nursing" and "Needs" was made. The method PI[C]OD was used to select 14 items of total 77. The care needs the person in the terminal stage are: communication, relationship of trust and security, recognition and operationalization of desires; preparation for mourning; needs for information, training, involvement in care, emotional needs, spiritual needs and resting needs. It was concluded that the family has different needs that require personal intervention of the nurse, through the establishment of a trust relationship
Palliative care; Family; Nursing