The following is a summary of “A multicentre survey on the perception of palliative care among health professionals working in hematology,” published in the March 2024 issue of Hematology by Lorenzo et al.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to understand why health professionals treating hematology patients refer them to palliative care less often than those with solid tumors.
They conducted a multicentre exploratory, descriptive web-based survey. 320 medical and nursing staff from five Italian hematological units and San Marino’s Hospital received a questionnaire to explore their perception of palliative care. They carried out both quantitative and qualitative analyses.
The results showed 142 out of 320 healthcare professionals completed the survey, resulting in a 44% response rate. Most respondents endorsed the integration of hematology and palliative care and acknowledged the role of palliative care. Half reported having an in-hospital palliative care team; only some had attended specific training courses. A majority agreed with palliative care referral for prognosis of less than 3 months or when symptoms were uncontrollable, as well as with blood transfusions even in the disease’s final stages. Many viewed the presence of an in-hospital palliative care team or a case manager, along with structured palliative care training, as essential facilitators of palliative care referrals.
Investigators concluded that despite positive attitudes towards palliative care, hematologists referred patients less frequently due to likely clinical, cultural, and organizational barriers.
Source: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10973048
