Philippine E-Journals

Knowledge and Attitudes on the Hospice and Palliative Care of the Residents in a Tertiary Private Hospital

Levangel C. Sta. Lucia | Rolando M. De Leon, Jr. | Maria Leonora B. Raboc

 

Abstract:

Hospice and Palliative Care (HPC) is a specialty field with limited studies in the Philippines. Hence, it is important to determine the knowledge and attitudes of the physicians in HPC. Objective: To determine the knowledge and attitudes of the resident physician trainees (RPTs) in a tertiary private health care institution on Hospice and Palliative Care. Methods: A cross-sectional study adapting the Palliative Care Attitude and Knowledge (PCAK) questionnaire was administered to the purposedly selected 29 resident physician trainees (RPT) of a private tertiary hospital. The inclusion criteria were residents currently working as RPTs of the institution. The exclusion criteria included: a) residents who did not give consent at the start of the survey; b) residents who were under the Family and Community Medicine; c) residents who were under the unaccredited departments of the institution and; d) residents who were not handling Hospice and Palliative care patients. Results: The majority of the respondents in this study were female (58.6%), Obstetrics-Gynecology residents (27.6%), with 3 years in practice (70%), and conducted discussions on HPC with 1-5 patients and families in the past 3 months (62.1%). Only 17.2 % of the respondents had formal HPC training. Approximately 93.1 % of the respondents had good knowledge on HPC principles. However, they lacked knowledge on the symptom assessment and management in HPC. Meanwhile, discussions of HPC with the patients and their families affected the knowledge of the respondents (p=0.0002). There was 51.7% of the respondents who had positive attitudes towards HPC. However, they decreased in agreement on the statements including the coverage of palliative care benefit and the candidates for HPC. The respondents with formal palliative care training affected their attitude scores (p=0.03). Conclusions: Generally, RPTs have good knowledge (93.1%) on the Hospice and Palliative care. Majority expressed positive attitude (51.7%). Residents’ knowledge compared to their demographic profile was not statistically significant except in the knowledge according to the number of patients and families wherein palliative care was discussed (p value= 0.0002). The attitudes of the residents compared to other demographic profile was not statistically significant except in the attitude scores according to the formal palliative care training (p=0.03). This study provides the baseline data on the knowledge and attitudes of the RPTs in this institution which may be used for further studies to assess the preparedness of the institution to establish the Department of Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine.