| Sumario: | Objective: To identify and analyze through systematic literature review the issue of communication betweenthe health professional and family of patients in the terminal stage, and how family is addressed in Palliative Care. Method:exploratory and quantitative research, based on material indexed in the databases Dedalus, Lilacs, MedLine, PeriEnf andScielo, from 1997 to 2008, using descriptors such as “Palliative Care”, “Communication” and “Family”. Results: 127 articleswere identified by the descriptors “Communication and Palliative Care”, and 34 by the descriptors “Communication,Palliative Care and Family”. The MedLine database was the one that showed the largest number of articles (22) with thedescriptors “Communication, Palliative Care and Family”, and the U.S. was the country with more publications (14) withthese descriptors. Conclusions: The number of publications that considers the family as a focus of palliative care is small.It is through communication that the professional approaches the family.
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