Authors

1Sandra Ortiz Ortiz, 2Marta Serrano Camacho, 3María Luisa Martínez Martín

Position

¹Enfermera. Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos. Hospital Universitario La Paz. Madrid.²Enfermera. Unidad de Cirugía General y Digestivo. Hospital Universitario La Princesa. Madrid.³Profesora Sección Departamental de Enfermería de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

Contact address

Sandra Ortiz Ortiz. C/ General Margallo, 13. 28020 Madrid.

Contact email: ortiz.or@hotmail.com

Abstract

setting of oncology patients during the final stage of their lives.
Method: a narrative review through bibliographic search in Health Science databases, search engines, websites, and periodical publications regarding the subject.
Results: thirty-five articles have been selected out of the 64 which were obtained; the aspects standing out as relevant in nursing emotional care were: communication, accompaniment, counseling, and family support. The nursing professional is the key figure in terms of accompaniment during the patients’ final stage of life, and relatives will associate the emotional approach with a good quality of care during this process. Therefore, good emotional care conducted by the nurse in this unique and personal moment of their lives will be remembered by relatives forever.
Conclusions: the current existence of different specialized professionals, the lack of knowledge about their exact role, and the fact of their being present or not within a healthcare team, sometimes entails that the nursing professional role becomes very difficult to define, and this is an aspect which requires further research.

Keywords:

oncology patient; palliative care; end-of-life care; communication; emotional support: accompaniment; family support; counseling

Versión en Español

Título:

Acompañar al paciente oncológico en la etapa final de la vida