Kaur Amanpreet, Sharma Mahendra P, Chaturvedi Santosh K
Research Fellow, The George Institute for Global Health, New Delhi, India.
Department of Clinical Psychology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
Indian J Palliat Care. 2021 Oct-Dec;27(4):544-551. doi: 10.25259/IJPC_125_21. Epub 2021 Sep 8.
Cancer palliative care professionals face a plethora of challenges related to death, dying and suffering apart from limited workforce and other resources in India. However, the grief held by them is underappreciated and psychological needs are under explored. The aim of the present study was to explore felt needs of cancer palliative care professionals working in India.
The study was cross-sectional, qualitative and in-depth in nature. It was conducted across four cancer palliative care centers in Bengaluru city of India. sample consisted of 15 professionals (mean age = 42 years and standard deviation = 8.41) with at least six months of experience, involved in direct patient care who gave an additional consent for audio-recording. The tools used were sociodemographic and professional datasheet and semi-structured interview guide, which were developed for the present study and validated from five experts. Thematic analysis was used to generate and analyze patterns within the qualitative data.
Five themes were identified, namely, death and grief; challenges in practice; strategies for self-care; positive professional experiences; and vision for palliative care.
The cancer palliative care professionals need regular support in coping with death and grief, regular trainings and supervision across workplace to deal with occupational challenges, and to address their self-care and spiritual needs. The study highlights need to introduce more specialized training courses in handling pediatric patients, increase palliative care workforce, and hospice units. This can have implications in future research and training with development of innovative interventions to address these needs and challenges.
在印度，癌症姑息治疗专业人员除了面临劳动力和其他资源有限的问题外，还面临着与死亡、临终和痛苦相关的诸多挑战。然而，他们所承受的悲痛未得到充分重视，心理需求也未得到充分探索。本研究的目的是探讨在印度工作的癌症姑息治疗专业人员的实际需求。
本研究为横断面、定性且深入的研究。在印度班加罗尔市的四个癌症姑息治疗中心进行。样本包括15名专业人员（平均年龄 = 42岁，标准差 = 8.41），他们至少有六个月的工作经验，参与直接的患者护理，并额外同意进行录音。所使用的工具是社会人口统计学和专业数据表以及半结构化访谈指南，这些工具是为本研究开发的，并经过五名专家的验证。采用主题分析来生成和分析定性数据中的模式。
确定了五个主题，即死亡与悲痛；实践中的挑战；自我护理策略；积极的专业经历；以及姑息治疗的愿景。
癌症姑息治疗专业人员在应对死亡和悲痛方面需要定期支持，在工作场所需要定期培训和监督以应对职业挑战，并满足他们的自我护理和精神需求。该研究强调需要引入更多关于处理儿科患者的专业培训课程，增加姑息治疗劳动力和临终关怀单位。这可能对未来的研究和培训产生影响，促使开发创新干预措施来满足这些需求和挑战。
