Palliative Care: The challenge of care for the elderly in the termination of life

Abstract

Population aging is one of the greatest challenges of contemporary society and public policy. This phenomenon is associated with a decline in physical abilities, related to new psychological and behavioral fragilities that demand different types of care. This article reviews the care, considering that the concepts have in their expressions. a series of philosophical aspects that must be discussed and that can contribute to a better understanding of the demands brought by the elderly in the terminality of their lives. Care requires a caring agent, who acts in the perspective of overcoming the technical issue because, as care only exists as an interaction, a coexistence, and a coexistence, it transcends the act of caring to become one caring attitude. It is necessary to identify and look for elements of caring behavior that include receptivity, reciprocity, connectivity, responsibility, and commitment. The care of the elderly in their health needs presents several challenges. Perhaps the greatest of them is located at the moment of the termination of their life, when it is there, existing, full of different and new needs, desires, dreams, and fears.