Practices and views about palliative care at the end of life: A survey of oncologists from the Italian region of Liguria

Abstract

Introduction:

We conducted an online survey to investigate oncologists' clinical practices and views on palliative care at the end of life in the Italian region of Liguria.

Methods:

The survey included 29 items divided into three sections: participant characteristics (n=6), hospital resources and practices (n=11), participant practices and views (n=12).

Results:

Twenty-one of the 41 medical oncologists invited completed the survey (51%). Although almost all reported the presence of palliative medicine physicians at their hospitals (90%), nearly half (48%) stated that palliative medicine physicians were not responsible for managing cancer patients at end of life, and 21% reported routine participation of palliative medicine physicians in multidisciplinary meetings. Thirty-eight percent of the respondents stated they never consulted psychologists regarding end of life patient care, and 43% reported they rarely did. Notably, a substantial proportion of participants stated that they administered active treatments to patients with six months life expectancy. Regarding integration between oncology and palliative medicine, an equal proportion felt it had been fully (48%) or partially achieved (48%) at their hospitals.

Conclusions:

Participants seemed fairly satisfied with the level of integration between oncology and palliative medicine at their hospitals, which contrasts with other findings regarding, for instance, the scant participation of palliative medicine physicians in multidisciplinary meetings. Exploring the impact of the novel regional clinical healthcare pathway for palliative care on practices at hospitals in Liguria will be crucial to ensure that cancer patients at end of life receive quality care.