Caregivers' Perceptions of End-of-Life Care in Brazil: A Qualitative Systematic Review.
Fernanda Cirne Lima Weston, Aline Branco, Isabela Ouriques Borghetti and 1 others
PMID 42561275WHAT IT FOUND
Brazilian end-of-life caregivers valued easy team access, family support, and clear talk about death.
They also reported overload, financial strain, distrust of palliative care, and reliance on faith and resilience.
Key findings
01Caregivers valued easy access to a skilled, caring multidisciplinary team, including telephone contact.
02Family support was seen as essential for rotating care and reducing physical, psychological, and financial overload.
03Caregivers wanted clear communication about death, while distrust of palliative care and poor team preparedness were barriers.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
No included studies were conducted in Brazil's North or Central-West regions, so the themes may not fit those settings. Ten studies addressed caregivers of cancer patients and three did not identify the diagnosis, so the themes may not apply to other diagnoses such as neurodegenerative or cardiac disease. The review synthesizes caregivers' perceptions from qualitative studies, not measured effects of interventions. Only studies that met selected quality checklist criteria were included, which may narrow the evidence base.
Declared interests
The work was supported by a CNPq scholarship and CAPES Finance Code 001. The supplied text does not state authors' conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as proof that team contact, family rotation, or palliative care services improve outcomes. The review synthesizes caregiver perceptions from 13 qualitative studies, mostly in cancer care and not in northern or central-west Brazil.