Understanding Palliative Care in Community Settings
Author Information
Author(s): Luth Elizabeth, Amponsah Abigail
Primary Institution: Rutgers University
Hypothesis
Differences in understanding how palliative care can help manage serious illness may contribute to individuals declining palliative care.
Conclusion
Explaining how palliative care can address health concerns may help reduce barriers to accepting it, especially for those with lower education levels.
Supporting Evidence
- Twelve participants had a bachelor's degree or higher, while nine had some college or less.
- 67% of participants with some college or less were concerned about psychological issues, stress, and managing medication side effects.
- All participants who did not understand palliative care and were concerned about stress and medication side effects had some college or less.
Takeaway
Some people don't understand how palliative care can help them feel better, especially if they didn't go to college, which makes them less likely to accept it.
Methodology
Survey responses from a validated instrument and semi-structured interviews with seriously ill individuals and family caregivers.
Limitations
The study is limited by the small sample size and the specific demographic of participants.
Participant Demographics
Participants included 21 seriously ill individuals and family caregivers, with varying education levels.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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