Paim Miranda DL, Orathes Ponte Silva AM, Pereira Ferreira D, Teixeira da Silva L, Lins-Kusterer L, de Queiroz Crusoé E, Vieira Lima MB, Aurélio Salvino M. Variability in the perception of palliative care and end-of-life care among hematology professionals from the same reference center in Bahia, Brazil: A descriptive cross-sectional study.
SAO PAULO MED J 2024;
142:e2023225. [PMID:
38422243 PMCID:
PMC10885630 DOI:
10.1590/1516-3180.2023.0255.r1.29112023]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Revised: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
There are several illness-specific cultural and system-based barriers to palliative care (PC) integration and end-of-life (EOL) care in the field of oncohematology.
OBJECTIVES
This study aimed to investigate the variability in the perceptions of PC and EOL care.
DESIGN AND SETTING
A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Hematology Division of our University Hospital in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.
METHODS
Twenty physicians responded to a sociodemographic questionnaire and an adaptation of clinical questionnaires used in previous studies from October to December 2022.
RESULTS
The median age of the participants was 44 years, 80% of the participants identified as female, and 75% were hematologists. Participants faced a hypothetical scenario involving the treatment of a 65-year-old female with a poor prognosis acute myeloid leukemia refractory to first-line treatment. Sixty percent of the participants chose to follow other chemotherapy regimens, whereas 40% opted for PC. Next, participants considered case salvage for the patient who developed septic shock following chemotherapy and were prompted to choose their most probable conduct, and the conduct they thought would be better for the patient. Even though participants were from the same center, we found a divergence from the most probable conduct among 40% of the participants, which was due to personal convictions, legal aspects, and other physicians' reactions.
CONCLUSIONS
We found considerable differences in the perception of PC and EOL care among professionals, despite following the same protocols. The study also demonstrated variations between healthcare professionals' beliefs and practices and persistent historical tendencies to prioritize aggressive interventions.
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