Introduction: Chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCD) constitute a health problem of growing magnitude in Brazil, leading concerns, to the Ministry of Health (MOH), about the care of persons with chronic conditions (due to advanced diseases), multiple harms and in need of long-term care, requiring continuous assistance,. However, few data exist on the size of the population potentially in need of palliative care in Brazil. Objective:To estimate the size of the Brazilian population that could benefit from palliative care across 26 federated states and the Federal District.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, using national death certificate and hospital admission data. Brazilian death registration and hospital admission data from 1 st of January to 31 st of December 2014 were analyzed and compared with estimation methods of Rosenwax and Murtagh including all adults (≥ 15 years old) who died in the period of 1 st of January to 31 st of December 2014 in Brazil.Results: the proportion of individuals who died from diseases that indicate palliative care needs at the end of life ranged from 24.6% to 85.2%. Conclusion:Integration of several existing policies, trigger and strengthen actions and integral care to patients with palliative care needs respectful of the specificities of each area as well as to support decision-making and the development of actions in health, in particular to the definition of needs and priorities, the construction of prospective scenarios, and the assessment of ongoing actions.

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE: To estimate the human resources and services needed to meet the demand of the Brazilian population who would benefit from palliative care, based on the population growth projection for 2040. METHODS: Population and mortality estimates and projections were obtained from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Service needs were estimated based on literature data. RESULTS: The expected increase in the Brazilian population for 2000-2040 is 31.5%. The minimum estimate of patients with palliative care needs was 662,065 in 2000 and 1,166,279 in 2040. The staff required for each hundred thousand inhabitants would increase from 1,734 to 2,282, the number of doctors needed would increase from 4,470 to 6,274, and the number of nurses from 8,586 to 11,294, for the same period. CONCLUSION: The definition of a national strategy predicting the increasing palliative care needs of the population is necessary. The expansion of the support network for chronic and non-transmissible diseases is necessary, but the training of existing human resources at all levels of attention to perform palliative actions can be a feasible alternative to minimize the suffering of the population.

Objective To analyze the complexity of nursing care with use of the Perroca scale in a Palliative Care Unit. Method Retrospective descriptive study of quantitative analysis. Results Between 2008 and 2016, the total of 2,486 patients were hospitalized, and their median length of hospital stay was 12 days. Of these patients, 1,568 had at least one Perroca scale evaluation. Nine hundred and ten patients (58%) were classified as minimal or intermediate care. Of these, 602 (66%) were discharged. As semi-intensive and intensive care were classified 658 (42%) patients, of whom 64% died and only 36% were discharged. Conclusion The Perroca scale is a tool to identify patients with greater need for care and the possible prognosis for hospitalized patients.

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