Psychological well-being in palliative care: A systematic review

Abstract

Objective: To review which are the most influential variables in achieving levels of psychological well-being at the end of life and to verify whether, as certain studies suggest, spirituality, resilience and social support are the pillars on which the psychological well-being construct is based.

Method: A systematic search through the Scopus, Pubmed and PsycInfo electronic databases was carried out using keywords such as: "wellbeing" OR "psychological-well-being" AND "resilience" AND "spirituality" AND "social support" AND "palliative care" and their multiple combinations.

Results: Eleven studies were selected, in which terms such as spiritual well-being, absence of discomfort and quality of life were used in substitution of psychological well-being and a certain consensus was found regarding whether resilience, spirituality and social support are predictive variables of psychological well-being.

Conclusions: Resilience, social support and spirituality are highly relevant variables at the end of life and contribute decisively towards psychological well-being.