Bereavement and Terminality

Death causes anguish and fear in most people. Thus, when a pathology without a cure reveals the proximity of the end of life, it brings with it various conflicts. This book seeks to describe what has been published in the last five years on the contributions of Hospital Psychology in the care of terminally ill patients and/or palliative care. It also aims to contribute to scientific knowledge on the subject and the development of new research into practicable interventions during patients’ terminality. An integrative bibliographic review was carried out between 2009 and 2014, using the following databases: Periódicos Eletrônicos em Psicologia - (PEPsic); Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO). They were identified using descriptors. Content analysis was carried out after acquiring the results, which point to the minimal development of studies on the subject during the period in question, as well as contemporary society’s lack of preparation for dealing with terminality.