Introduction:

Qualified end-of-life care remains an international challenge. The frequent use of terms such as "Palliative Care" and "end of life" has certain implications on the prognosis of the patient and in determining effective decision-making related to appropriate care. However, is such terminology commonly used in the literature? However, whether such terminology is commonly used in literature remains unknown. The objetive was verify the terms used in the Brazilian and international scientific literature on palliative practice in the final stage of life and to describe the terminological understanding based on its usage characteristics.

Materials and methods:

Studies from the LILACS and Pubmed databases published from 2012 to 2017 using the descriptors "end of life," "terminal stage," "Palliative Care," and "Hospice care" were included in this exploratory systematic review.

Results:

Ten articles were selected out of a total of 1909. A prevalence of American medical studies with heterogeneous methodological content that presented diverse conceptual proposals was identified.

Conclusion:

The analysis of these articles reinforced the need to work on the conceptual dissemination of palliative care with an emphasis on the implications of the use of this approach only at the end of life, which hinders the process of improving the quality of care at the time of death.

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