KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE OF HEALTH PROFESSIONALS ON PALLIATIVE CARE OF TERMINALLY-ILL PATIENTS IN A TERTIARY HEALTH INSTITUTION OF SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

Existing information on Palliative Care (PC) indicated an increase in development of services in some African countries with Nigeria in top three on specialized care. However, knowledge and skill deficit in PC among health professionals (HP) is a significant barrier to quality treatment of patients with chronic life-threatening diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge and attitude of PC among HP in a tertiary health institution in Nigeria. This cross-sectional study involved 260 consenting HP (Medical doctors, Nurses, Occupational therapists, Physiotherapists, and Social workers), purposively recruited from Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife. Attitude and knowledge were assessed using Frommelt attitude towards care of the dying (FATCOD) and the Palliative care attitude and knowledge quiz (PCAK) questionnaires respectively. Also, socio-demographic information of the respondents was obtained. Descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation, frequency and percentages; and inferential statistics of Chi-Square test and Pearson’s correlation were used to analyze data. Alpha level was set at p<0.05. Majority (80%) of the respondents had never received formal PC training and demonstrated poor PC knowledge. Only 13 (5%) had good knowledge of, while 257 (98%) had favourable attitude towards PC. There were significant associations between respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics and each of knowledge of PC (p<0.05) and attitude towards PC (p= 0.001). Results of Pearson’s correlation indicated significant correlation between knowledge and attitude of the respondents on PC (r= 0.167, p=0.007). Most of the HP in this study had poor knowledge but favourable attitude towards PC. PC should be included in the undergraduate curriculum of concerned HP and continuous professional training be integrated for practicing professionals