Awareness of palliative care among doctors of various departments in all four teaching medical colleges in a metropolitan city in Eastern India: A survey

Abstract

Objective:To enquire about the level of awareness regarding various important aspects of palliative medicine among doctors of various departments in four Medical Colleges in Kolkata through a questionnaire.Materials and Methods:A questionnaire was developed by few members of Indian Association of Palliative Care. It was distributed, to a convenience sample of doctors who worked at various departments in all four teaching hospitals in Kolkata. The distribution and collection of questionnaires was carried out within four months.Results:The results suggested that 85% of the doctors felt that cancer was the commonest reason for the palliative care teams to be involved. Seventy four percent of the doctors mentioned that pain control was their prime job; 53% said that they are enjoying their encounter with palliative care, so far; 77% of the doctors thought breaking bad news is necessary in further decision making process; only 22% of the doctors reported the WHO ladder of pain control sequentially, 35% of the doctors believed other forms of therapies are useful in relieving pain, 35% of the doctors thought that they gave enough importance and time for pain control; 77% said that they had heard about a hospice, among them still 61% of the doctors thought that the patients should spend last days of their life at home. Thinking of the future, 92% of the doctors think that more and more people will need palliative care in the coming days.Conclusion:Amongst the doctors of various departments, there is a lack of training and awareness in palliative care. Almost all the doctors are interested and they are willing to have more training in pain control, breaking bad news, communication skills and terminal care.

A survey of medical professionals in an apex tertiary care hospital to assess awareness, interest, practices, and knowledge in palliative care: A descriptive cross-sectional study

“…Similarly, 85.2%–93% of doctors agreed that palliative care is most commonly needed in cancer patients. [910] In our study, 60.2%–77.4% of participants were aware of the palliative care need in chronic kidney disease on dialysis and end-stage heart failure similar to findings by other authors. [101213]…”

“…Similarly, 77% of doctors had heard the term hospice in a study by Bhadra et al . [9] In contrast, in a study by Shaikh et al ., 69.7% of nononcologist physicians were unaware of the term hospice. [11]…”

“…In our study, participants agreed that the aim of palliative care is improving quality of life followed by pain control, rehabilitation, and counseling similar to another study. [9] Most of them were aware of the aim of palliative care, but 15.6% of them had misconception that it also prolongs life. In another study, 77.7% of participants had myth that palliative care prolongs life.…”

“…In a study, 53% of doctors agreed that home is the best place to provide terminal care. [9] In India where there is always shortage of hospital beds and other resources, home-based palliative services are boon in relieving hospital and caregiver burden. [14]…”

“…They concluded lack of training and awareness in comfort care and willingness to learn in this field. [9] Similarly, 75.5% of doctors were unaware of the basic concept of palliative care. [15] However, 74% of health-care providers were aware regarding palliative care in a study.…”