Palliative care: work of the physiotherapist to improve the quality of life of the patient in primary health care and the multidisciplinary team.

Abstract

Introduction. Palliative care includes different physical therapy techniques that help relieve physical and emotional symptoms to improve patients' daily functioning. This type of care involves progressive diseases such as brain metastases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, motor neurone disease, and multiple sclerosis. In Ecuador, palliative care is important due to the increase in diseases that require specialized care; cancer is the main cause of death in the country, which indicates the need for greater attention to palliative care. It is estimated that only 3% of people who need palliative care in Ecuador receive adequate care. Objective. The objective of this study was to analyze physiotherapy interventions in palliative care through a critical analysis based on scientific articles from the last five years to identify the different techniques used in patients in palliative care. Methodology. An extensive bibliographic search was conducted in databases such as SciELO, Google Scholar, Scopus, ProQuest, Cengage, E-libros, Proqueste-bookcentral, etc. to determine the state of the art on the topic studied. A total of 120 manuscripts in Spanish, English and Portuguese, of which the content of 65 was considered, constituted the sample, main keywords: nursing, palliative care, bioethics, 46 scientific articles published in journals indexed in regional databases and global. , for the period 2014-2018 and 2018, there are pages related to official national and international documents in physical and electronic format, practical guides, manuals, works obtained from institutional repositories, laws and statistics related to the topic studied. Results. The studies reviewed demonstrated that a variety of interventions such as reflexology, massage, structured body training, graded cognitive and movement therapies, personalized physical therapy plans, TENS, CGA-based therapies, and standard care can improve patients' life functioning and alleviate pain. symptoms of fatigue and pain. Have a chronic illness. Conclusion. Physiotherapy plays an inherent role in the multidisciplinary palliative care team in Primary Health Care, improving the life function of patients who are considered to require physical and functional dimensions of care. General Area of Study: Health and Wellness. Specific area of study: physiotherapy. Type of study: original article.