Patterns of palliative care beliefs among adults in the United States : analysis of a national cancer database

Article

CHENG, Brian T. | WANGMO, Tenzin | HAUSER, Joshua M.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Palliative care (PC) is associated with increased quality of life for individuals with life-limiting illnesses. Despite growing recognition of the need for public advocacy and involvement, data on public perception of PC is limited. We sought to examine patterns of beliefs, socio-demographic differences, and the impact of information source on perceptions of PC. METHODS: Data were analyzed from the 2018 Health Information National Trends Survey, a representative sample of public knowledge on cancer-related information. Prevalence of perceptions were estimated among adults who self-identified as knowledgeable about PC; multivariable logistic regression invoking stepwise variable selection was used to determine associations with perceptions. RESULTS: Overall, 42.5% automatically thought of death when thinking about PC, and 31.7% equate PC with hospice care. Lower proportions perceived PC as incompatible with curative medical therapy: 15.1% believed PC means giving up, and 14.5% believed PC requires the discontinuation of other treatments. Perceptions varied by age, race, education attainment, income, and marital status. In adjusted models, source of PC information was not related to differences in PC perception: PC is giving up (P=0.28), requirement to stop curative therapy (P=0.07), and equation with hospice care (P=0.29). CONCLUSIONS: Six in every 10 American adults knowledgeable about PC have at least one documented misperception, with differential beliefs by socio-demographic groups. Source of information had little impact on PC beliefs. These findings may help focus future measures to educate the public about the role of PC in healthcare and address gaps in knowledge.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2019.07.030

Voir la revue «JOURNAL OF PAIN AND SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT»

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