QOLP-28. COMPARING KNOWLEDGE OF AND BELIEFS ABOUT PALLIATIVE CARE AMONG NEURO-ONCOLOGY PATIENTS, CAREGIVERS, PROVIDERS AND A NATIONALLY-REPRESENTATIVE U.S. SAMPLE

Abstract

Abstract INTRODUCTION There is increasing recognition that palliative care (PC) can benefit patients with advanced cancers. However, early referral to PC is not yet a reality for patients diagnosed with a primary brain tumor. We hypothesize that lack of knowledge and/or misperceptions regarding PC by patients, caregivers, or their providers remain barriers. METHODS This is an IRB-exempt, one-time QR-accessible REDcap questionnaire administered to patients, caregivers, and providers at the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center between September 2020 and May 2021. We administered 9 questions regarding knowledge and beliefs about PC from the Health Information National Trends Survey 5, Cycle 2: results of this nationally representative U.S. sample are publicly available and used for comparison. RESULTS We had 141 survey respondents: 25 providers, 59 patients, and 57 caregivers. The median patient and caregiver ages were 49 (21-74) and 50 years (24-73), respectively. Caregivers were more likely female (55.2 %) and identified as a spouse or domestic partner (58.2%). Providers, were equally distributed by years of experience. Compared to patients and caregivers, providers reported more baseline knowledge of PC (p< 0.0001, p< 0.0001) and better understood the role of PC in pain/symptom management (p=0.0038, p=0.0087) and social/emotional support (p=0.0044, p=0.0279). Interestingly, most providers (76.0%) disagreed with the statement “the goal of palliative care is to give patients more time at the end of life.” Compared to a general U.S. sample (n=1,162) our patients (n=39) were better informed in only 2 of 9 questions. Whereas, caregivers (n=48) were better informed in 6 of 9 questions. CONCLUSION Neuro-oncology providers were knowledgeable, but a minor gap in understanding the goal of PC was identified. Caregivers were overall more knowledgeable than patients. However, Neuro-oncology patients, had similar knowledge and beliefs compared to a nationally representative sample. PC interventions should prioritize filling knowledge gaps for Neuro-oncology patients.