Knowledge and perceptions of palliative care among oncology outpatients.

Abstract

118 Background: Palliative care is emerging as an integral component of oncology care. There is growing evidence of its benefits but providers struggle with how to integrate specialist palliative services for the oncology population. The purpose of this study was to measure patients’ knowledge and perceptions, and their intention to seek palliative services. This study helps inform and guide oncology and palliative providers in their efforts to bridge the gap for oncology patients. Methods: The study used a cross-sectional design. A convenience sample of adult oncology patients using ambulatory cancer services at a community hospital was surveyed using the Knowledge of Care Options (KOCO) and Perceptions of Palliative Care Instrument (PPCI). Clinical information was abstracted from their health records retrospectively. Descriptive statistics were used to describe all variables. The association between knowledge, perceptions, and intention was analyzed using Pearson’s r correlation and multivariate regression analysis. Results: The majority of the 139 participants enrolled were female (61.9%), white (76.7%), and had good functional status with ECOG of 0 or 1 (87.1%). Mean age was 63.4 years. The mean KOCO score was 84.4% although several items scored less than 70%. Overall intention to seek palliative care was low at 2.53 on a seven point scale; a majority of patients indicated that they were unlikely to seek palliative care. There was a positive correlation between overall perception and intention to seek palliative care in the next three months (r = 0.212, p = 0.02).In addition, patients with higher scores on perceived needs for palliative care were more likely to report an intention to seek palliative care (r = 0.308, p = 0.001). Conclusions: There remains a knowledge deficit about palliative care in the oncology population. Participants did not experience negative emotional or cognitive reactions in response to information about palliative care. Perceived needs were associated with intention to seek palliative care services. Routine screening for needs and effective educational strategies are needed to better integrate palliative and oncology care.