A Study into the Children's Palliative Care Educational Needs of Health Professionals in Uganda

Abstract

To research the children's palliative care (CPC) educational needs of health professionals in Uganda. METHODOLOGY DESIGN AND SETTING: Mixed quantitative and qualitative survey set in three hospice sites in Uganda. Self-rating survey, log book of problem cases, focus group of students of a CPC course. Self-rated "usefulness of further training" scores for CPC subject areas; thematic analysis of log books; thematic analysis of focus group findings. All health professionals (n = 50) were invited and 48 (96%) consented to participate. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: The study was approved by the Hospice Africa Uganda (HAU) Research and Ethics Committee. Communication with children rated highest in all three arms of the study. SELF-RATING SURVEY: Average score = 8.3 of 10; range = 6.4 of 10 to 9.5 of 10. Communication with children, pain management, and psychological issues rated highest, and technical subject areas predominated. LOG BOOK ANALYSIS: Strongest themes were communicating with children and families, team-working, and managing personal stress. FOCUS GROUP ANALYSIS: Strongest themes were communicating with children, assessment and management planning, and managing personal stress. There is educational need for all CPC subject areas across the board, but communication with children is the most pressing. There are disparities between recognized learning needs (technical skills predominating) and unrecognized learning needs (interpersonal and intrapersonals skills predominating). While the broad subject areas for CPC may be similar in resource-rich and resource-poor settings, educational resources developed for the specific context of African and other resource poor settings are required.