Abstract
BackgroundThe palliative care consultation service (PCCS) of the National Health Insurance payments has been promoted in Taiwan since 2011, although few studies have been conducted on healthcare staffs’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding PCCS in Taiwan; consequently, the main objective of this study was to explore any correlations regarding the above by cross-sectional design using convenience sampling.MethodsA total of 210 healthcare staff members were enrolled from a regional hospital from June 1, 2018, to September 30, 2018. Questionnaire items on the Palliative Care Consultation Service Inventory (KAP-PCCSI) were used to measure healthcare staff’s knowledge, attitudes, and practices of PCCS. The collected data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, Pearson’s correlation coefficient analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis.ResultsThe results revealed that the mean scores for knowledge of and attitudes of KAP-PCCSI were 58.7 ± 8.9 (perfect score: 75) and 42.7 ± 4.7 (perfect score: 50) respectively, while the mean score for practices of KAP-PCCSI was 36.3 ± 8.1 (perfect score: 50); moreover, the healthcare staff’s knowledge and attitudes were positively correlated with their practices (p < 0.01). The results also showed that knowledge, attitudes, experience of having a family member(s) or friend(s) passing away, and being a medical personnel constituted the major predictors of practices (p < 0.001). These factors explained 43.2% of the overall variance for practices of KAP-PCCSI.ConclusionsThe findings can help healthcare staff understand factors influencing practices of KAP-PCCSI and can serve as a reference for the development of strategies for palliative care education and training while improving the care quality of patients undergoing such palliative care with terminal life considerations in the hospitals, thereby fulfilling the goal of achieving holistic care.
Highlights
The World Health Organization defines palliative care as an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems including the physical, psychosocial and spiritual dimensions [1]
The palliative care consultation service (PCCS) of the National Health Insurance payments has been promoted in Taiwan since 2011, few studies have been conducted on healthcare staffs’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding PCCS in Taiwan; the main objective of this study was to explore any correlations regarding the above by cross-sectional design using convenience sampling
The results revealed that the mean scores for knowledge of and attitudes of KAP-PCCSI were 58.7 ± 8.9 and 42.7 ± 4.7 respectively, while the mean score for practices of KAP-PCCSI was 36.3 ± 8.1; the healthcare staff’s knowledge and attitudes were positively correlated with their practices (p < 0.01)
Summary
The World Health Organization defines palliative care as an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems including the physical, psychosocial and spiritual dimensions [1]. It focuses on optimizing the quality of life of patients and their families who have serious and complex illnesses [2]. The palliative care consultation service (PCCS) of the National Health Insurance payments has been promoted in Taiwan since 2011, few studies have been conducted on healthcare staffs’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding PCCS in Taiwan; the main objective of this study was to explore any correlations regarding the above by cross-sectional design using convenience sampling
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