The Intensive Care Units (ICU) were developed to provide assistance to people in critical condition, being reformulated by the National Humanization Policy (PNH), also called HumanizaSUS, reorganizing health care practices, in order to consider the uniqueness, the multidimensionality and the social context of the patient and his family. Being a humanization defined as a set of actions to qualify a complete assistance, valuing care as the main basis. This study aimed to analyze the scientific contributions on the humanization of care in the Intensive Care Unit, during the period from 2000 to 2012. This is an integrative review of the literature, which allows the realization of scientific knowledge, based on previous studies conducted. Online searches were performed at the Virtual Health Library, Scielo (Scientific Electronic Library Online) and LILACS (Latin American Literature). Counting with 10 productions, analyzed with an instrument created by the researcher herself. The results showed that the humanization of care contributes significantly to the recovery of the patient in the Intensive Care Unit. However, there are difficulties to overcome, related to issues of the patient and his / her family, the nursing team and health institutions. There is a need for training and awareness of professionals to improve care for critically ill patients.

Tem por objetivo destacar os fatores de risco e proteção, descrever sobre as condições crônicas, as complexidades das doenças, conceitos comuns das doenças crônicas, apresenta diretrizes para a organização do cuidado. Este estudo configura-se como uma resenha de livro, no qual foram descritores as informações contidas no caderno de nº 35 da atenção básica, proporcionando a possibilidade de sintetizar as ideais exploradas pelos autores, além de recomendar a obra para os profissionais de saúde e estudantes da área.