HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN PRIMARY CARE AND PALLIATIVE CARE: INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

Objective: To understand the relationship between health professionals and palliative care in primary care. Materials and methods: Integrative qualitative literature review, carried out in May 2022, in the Virtual Health Library, with the descriptors 'Palliative Care' and 'Primary Health Care' and 'Health Personnel', inclusion criteria in Portuguese and the theme. The following were analyzed: year and type of publication, authorship, level of evidence, objectives, results/discussion and conclusion. Minayo's descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were applied. Result: 132 publications were obtained, applying the criteria; 127 were excluded, leaving 5: the most recent from 2018, 1 (20%) multidisciplinary, 4 (80%) level IV of evidence. In the thematic analysis, two approaches emerged: the professionals' difficulties, with emphasis on the restricted availability of the team; and difficulties of patients and families, with emphasis on professional support in home management. Conclusion: There are important challenges experienced in primary care for palliative care, such as lack of a system and a well-defined flow, fragility in the availability of the team, discontinued and limited actions, demand for teaching and training, need for improvement in communication between professionals, with patients and their family members.