Bakhsh Alaa S, Faraj Rami I, Alashqar Mohammed, Alsahafi Imtinan
Palliative Care, King Abdullah Medical City, Makkah, SAU.
Family Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Jeddah, SAU.
Cureus. 2023 Dec 10;15(12):e50258. doi: 10.7759/cureus.50258. eCollection 2023 Dec.
Background Understanding palliative care (PC) can hinder access to it. To address this, further research into the factors influencing knowledge and awareness of PC is required to develop effective public health campaigns. This study aimed to estimate the knowledge and awareness of PC among primary family caregivers of patients present to the palliative department at King Abdullah Medical City, Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), in 2023, and to determine the factors affecting the family caregiver's awareness about PC. Materials and methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2023 among patients' family caregivers in the palliative department of King Abdullah Medical City, Makkah, KSA. The patient was evaluated by palliative service as an inpatient or outpatient presentation. A score, namely "caregivers' general knowledge of palliative care," was used as a study variable. Each of the questions was converted to points and calculated using a simple additive method. The total score was converted to a categorical variable. To discard the null hypothesis, a conventional p-value <0.05 was used. Results The 378 family primary caregivers completed the self-administered questionnaire. The majority (73.8%) were unaware of PC until their family member was admitted to the hospital. The mean score of caregivers' general knowledge is 2.75+0.9, indicating that they have limited knowledge about PC. Age, employment status, relation to the patient, and duration of receiving PC are significantly associated with their knowledge. No associations were found on gender, level of education, and tumor site. Participants aged 26-35 years old (p<0.001), those who are students (p=0.002), who are brother/sister of the patient (p<0.001), and less than one year of PC (p<0.001) significantly related to caregivers' knowledge. Conclusion A low knowledge mean score was found in this study. This indicated that participants had limited knowledge of PC. This study suggested that effective PC education programs and increasing specialized facilities be developed to raise the awareness of both caregivers and patients.
背景 对姑息治疗（PC）的了解可能会阻碍人们获得这种治疗。为了解决这个问题，需要进一步研究影响PC知识和认知的因素，以开展有效的公共卫生宣传活动。本研究旨在评估2023年沙特阿拉伯王国麦加阿卜杜拉国王医疗城姑息治疗科患者的主要家庭照顾者对PC的知识和认知，并确定影响家庭照顾者对PC认知的因素。材料与方法 这项横断面研究于2023年在沙特阿拉伯王国麦加阿卜杜拉国王医疗城姑息治疗科的患者家庭照顾者中进行。患者通过姑息治疗服务作为住院或门诊患者进行评估。一个分数，即“照顾者对姑息治疗的一般知识”，被用作研究变量。每个问题都转换为分数，并使用简单相加法进行计算。总分转换为分类变量。为了摒弃无效假设，使用了传统的p值<0.05。结果 378名家庭主要照顾者完成了自填式问卷。大多数（73.8%）在其家庭成员入院之前并不了解PC。照顾者一般知识的平均分数为2.75 + 0.9，表明他们对PC的知识有限。年龄、就业状况、与患者的关系以及接受PC的时长与他们的知识显著相关。在性别、教育程度和肿瘤部位方面未发现关联。年龄在26 - 35岁的参与者（p<0.001）、学生（p = 0.002）、患者的兄弟姐妹（p<0.001）以及接受PC少于一年的参与者（p<0.001）与照顾者的知识显著相关。结论 本研究发现知识平均分数较低。这表明参与者对PC的知识有限。本研究建议制定有效的PC教育计划并增加专业设施，以提高照顾者和患者的认知。
