Palliative care and communication: study with health professionals of the home care service

Objective: To investigate whether professionals of the Home Care Service value communication in the scope of palliative care, when assisting patients without possibility of healing, and to ascertain the facilitating communication strategies used by these professionals for promoting palliative care. Methods: This is an exploratory research, with qualitative nature, conducted with 22 professionals of the Home Care Service situated in the city of João Pessoa/PB. Data were analyzed by means of the content analysis technique. Results: The analysis gave rise to two categories: "Valorization of communication in the relationship between health professionals and patients under palliative care" and "Communication strategies used by professionals for promoting palliative care in the Home Care Service". Conclusion: It can be concluded that communication is configured as an essential component of patient care and is extremely important for promoting palliative care.