Young adults with cancer in palliative care/end of life care: integrative literature review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31877/on.2025.51.02Keywords:
Young adult, Cancer, Palliative care, End of life careAbstract
Introduction: Young adults with cancer in palliative care and/or end of life care are a particularly vulnerable population, about which very little has been studied. The main goal of this review is to summarize their experience.
Methods: An integrative literature review was conducted in the databases PUBMED®, CINAHL Complete®, MEDLINE Complete® and Scielo® (studies published between January 1st 2017 and January 19th 2024). The review was done following the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines and PRISMA flowchart.
Results: Five articles of various methodologies were included. Among them, a few key themes come to light such: care preferences; negative aspects of the experience; their needs; the familial and social context; and the nurse’s intervention.
Conclusion: This is a context of extreme vulnerability, that requires the intervention of a multidisciplinary team. Therefore, it is necessary to support and enable health care professionals to adopt better practices. This remains a subject that requires deeper research.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Sofia Filipe Penim, Daniela Sousa
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
