ABSTRACT

Objective: To assess the awareness of palliative care among healthcare providers in Pakistan.
Study Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study.
Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in healthcare providers from various healthcare setups in Pakistan, from 20^th March 2021 to 21^th May 2021.
Materials and Methods: A total of 134 responders from various hospitals answered a questionnaire-based survey on the knowledge and palliative care practice among healthcare providers. The questionnaire was made according to guidelines given By Shaheen Palliative Care Project, United Kingdom. For data collection, convenience sampling was used and to present distribution of responses percentages and frequencies were used. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS 17.
Result: In 134 responders, about 128 (95.5%) responders were involved in palliative care, but only 55 (41.0%) were satisfied with palliative care given. Majority of responders 118 (88.0%) had idea regarding members of palliative care team. About 124 (73.4%) responders knew that, palliative care should start at the time of diagnosis and 123 (91.7%) gave correct response regarding the goal of palliative care. Most of the responders 124 (92.5%) were convinced that palliative care should be the part of curriculum at all health care levels.
Conclusion: Among healthcare providers across Pakistan, the majority have fair idea regarding palliative care but a more than half of the responders were not satisfied with palliative care they are providing which is mainly due to the lack in palliative medicine training. Palliative care should be the part of curriculum at all health care levels with more online programs and workshops.

Keywords: Healthcare Provider, Life-Threatening Illness, Palliative Care, Palliative Medicine.

How to cite this: Kashif S.  Awareness of Palliative Care among Healthcare Providers in Pakistan: A Survey. 2022; 3(4): 174-177. doi: http://doi.org/10.37185/LnS.1.1.224