Heard Of Palliative Care Research Articles

Palliative care awareness amongst religious leaders and seminarians: a Nigerian study.

IntroductionThere exists scanty literature on the awareness of Nigerians towards palliative care. This study was conducted to determine the level of awareness of religious leaders and seminarians in Ibadan, Nigeria, on palliative care.MethodsData obtained from a cross-section of 302 religious leaders and seminarians in the metropolitan city of Ibadan, Nigeria, were used in this research. Study tool was a self-administered questionnaire which obtained information from the participants about their bio-data and knowledge of palliative care. Data analysis was done using the SPSS version 16 Software.ResultsThe mean age of the respondents was 28.99 years, with 55.6% of them being within the age range of 21 to 30 years. The majority (94%) were males, 68.5% were single and 79.8% were seminarians. Only 31.8% have heard of palliative care before, 12.6% knew a health facility where palliative care is rendered in Nigeria, while 21.9% knew that chaplains are members of the palliative care team.ConclusionThe level of awareness of palliative care among religious leaders and seminarians in Ibadan, Nigeria, is low. There exists the need to educate Nigerian religious leaders and seminarians on palliative care.

Awareness, understanding and attitudes of Italians regarding palliative care.

There are numerous difficulties encountered in the diffusion of palliative care (PC) in developed countries. A correct and widespread awareness of PC among the general public represents an important factor for its enhanced diffusion and use. The aim of this study is to verify the level of awareness of PC among Italians and their perception of the needs of patients with incurable illness. A random sample of 1897 adult subjects, aged 18 to 74 years, representative of the Italian population, was interviewed after stratification by gender, age (6 strata), education (3 levels), geographic area of residency (4 areas) and town of residency (4 dimensions). 59.4% of those interviewed had heard of PC, but only 23.5% of them believed that they had an adequate or precise idea of what PC is; 27% of them did not know or had a mistaken idea about the nature of PC. The most accepted perception was that PC alleviates pain and improves quality-of-life. The principal concerns attributed to incurable patients were: fear of suffering and of death, and the principal needs were perceived as: relief from pain and physical suffering. The primary needs of the family were identified in: medical and nursing care at home, followed by: care provided by volunteers and psychological support. The most appropriate care-setting for these patients was indicated as their home, possibly with the support of professional carers. In the case of children, the main concern indicated was that of being "separated" from family, friends, home and toys. Only 45.2% of interviewees thought that they knew a person who had experienced PC. In conclusion, the awareness of the Italian population of PC is scarce and often incorrect. In order to achieve a greater diffusion and better use of PC in our country, this awareness needs to be improved by appropriate intervention.

Understanding of the term “palliative care”: A Canadian survey

This article examines the results of two studies conducted in Atlantic Canada to evaluate people's understanding of palliative care. In Study 1, a sample of adults were asked to respond to a brief survey. Respondents were asked if they had ever heard of palliative care. Those who answered "yes" were asked to respond to a number of additional questions about palliative care. The results of Study 1 revealed that over three-quarters of the respondents (75.3 percent) had heard of palliative care, however, only about half of these (48.4 percent) defined it as care for terminally ill or dying persons. Of those who had heard of palliative care, the vast majority (92.3 percent) said they would use palliative care services if they had a terminally ill family member In Study 2, respondents were presented with a written description of palliative care. After reading the description, respondents were asked to indicate whether or not they knew (prior to reading the description) what palliative care was. Those who answered "yes" were asked to provide a written explanation of how they first learned about palliative care; those who answered "no" were asked to provide written suggestions of how they believed information about palliative care should be disseminated to the public. The results revealed that 60.5 percent of the respondents knew about palliative care before reading the description. Of those who knew about palliative care, 40.8 percent of them first learned about it through personal experience with the death of a family member or close friend. Of those who did not know what palliative care was, the suggestions they gave for creating community awareness of palliative care included: information disseminated by healthcare providers, use of pamphlets, the media, and the church.