[Palliative care: communication as a strategy of care for the terminal patient]

Palliative care involves an approach in the field of care for terminal patients and their families that seeks to assure them better quality of life by establishing good communication. The scope of this study was to verify how nurses use communication in the field of palliative care when assisting patients in the terminal phase. This is exploratory research of a qualitative nature in which 28 nurses working in wards of a hospital in the city of Joao Pessoa in the State of Paraíba participated in the period from August to October 2012. A form was used for data collection that was then analyzed using the content analysis technique. Three categories emerged from the analysis of the material: "palliative care and communication - interpersonal relationship between the nurse and the terminal patient"; "communication in palliative care as a strategy for strengthening the bond between the nurse and the terminal patient"; and "the importance of communication between the nurse and the family of the terminal patient under palliative care." The conclusion reached was that communication is seen to be an effective element of care for the patient in the terminal phase and it is extremely important for the promotion of palliative care.