Palliative Medicine Research Group, Department of Medicine, St Vincent's Hospital, The University of Melbourne, Fitzroy, VIC, Australia.
Medical Oncology, St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, Fitzroy, VIC, Australia.
Palliat Med. 2020 Feb;34(2):245-252. doi: 10.1177/0269216319888371. Epub 2019 Nov 19.
Palliative care is predominantly accessed late in the course of an illness, despite evidence to suggest the benefits of early engagement. Strategies are required to reduce the barriers to the delivery of palliative care.
To describe community understandings of and attitudes to palliative care and explore characteristics significantly associated with favourable attitudes towards palliative care.
Cross-sectional survey data were collected including several sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge of palliative care and attitudes to palliative care. Correlational analyses identified factors related to positive attitudes to palliative care. Those of significance ( ⩽ 0.01) were examined using a multiple regression model to determine their predictive value.
SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: A community-based sample of consecutive English-speaking adults who volunteered their participation in response to a study advertisement distributed online through established community groups.
A total of 421 participants (75% female, mean age: 51 ± 15.1) reported a median of at least three misperceptions of palliative care. Older age, previously undertaking a caregiving role, knowing someone who had received palliative care and reporting more accurate knowledge of palliative care significantly predicted favourable attitudes to palliative care (adjusted = 0.24, (8, 333) = 13.2, < 0.001). Other factors typically associated with health literacy such as tertiary education, working at a medical facility and speaking a language other than English at home were not predictive.
Gaps in knowledge about palliative care exist in community, which may limit citizen's potential access to quality care in the event of serious illness. These results point to a role for public education programmes, which may, in turn, also shift attitudes to palliative care.
尽管有证据表明早期参与的益处，但姑息治疗主要是在疾病晚期才开始接受，这表明需要采取策略来减少提供姑息治疗的障碍。
描述社区对姑息治疗的理解和态度，并探讨与对姑息治疗的有利态度显著相关的特征。
收集了横断面调查数据，包括几个社会人口学特征、姑息治疗知识和对姑息治疗的态度。相关分析确定了与对姑息治疗的积极态度相关的因素。对有意义的因素（≤0.01）进行了多元回归模型分析，以确定其预测价值。
地点/参与者：从一个基于社区的连续英语母语成年人样本中，招募了自愿参与的参与者，这些参与者是通过在线向已建立的社区团体发布研究广告招募的。
共有 421 名参与者（75%为女性，平均年龄：51±15.1）报告了至少三种对姑息治疗的误解。年龄较大、以前承担过护理角色、认识接受过姑息治疗的人以及报告对姑息治疗有更准确的知识，显著预测了对姑息治疗的有利态度（调整后的 = 0.24，（8, 333） = 13.2， < 0.001）。其他通常与健康素养相关的因素，如高等教育、在医疗设施工作和在家说英语以外的语言，并不具有预测性。
社区中存在姑息治疗知识方面的差距，这可能限制公民在发生严重疾病时获得优质护理的机会。这些结果表明，公众教育计划可能发挥作用，这反过来也可能改变对姑息治疗的态度。
