Palliative care in national health policies: a global scoping review

This study is a scoping review that aims to map strategies for integrating palliative care into national public health policies and to identify the mechanisms associated with their implementation within public health systems. The review is situated in the context of the recent approval of the Brazilian National Palliative Care Policy (Política Nacional de Cuidados Paliativos – PNCP) in 2024 and draws on international experiences to contextualize how public health systems address barriers, facilitators, and evidence gaps related to palliative care integration. The review follows the PCC framework, focusing on populations with life-limiting health conditions, the integration of palliative care into public health policies, and public health system contexts. The guiding research question is: How have different public health systems integrated palliative care into their national health policies? This scoping review will be conducted in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. It will include peer-reviewed studies and official documents that describe or analyze the incorporation of palliative care into public health policies and the organization of public health systems, without restrictions on language or year of publication. Sources of evidence will include scientific databases and grey literature issued by public institutions and international organizations. Study selection will be performed independently by two reviewers. Data will be extracted using standardized forms and synthesized through descriptive and qualitative content analysis. No assessment of methodological quality or risk of bias will be conducted, consistent with the objectives of a scoping review. The findings will provide a descriptive mapping of policy-level strategies for integrating palliative care and will be used to contextualize the Brazilian PNCP within the international policy landscape. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, scientific conferences, and public registration on the Open Science Framework.