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Misconception between palliative care and euthanasia among Thai general practitioners: a cross-sectional study.
- Source :
- BMC Palliative Care; 4/11/2024, Vol. 23 Issue 1, p1-8, 8p
- Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- Background: Palliative care lower medical expenses and enhances quality of life, but misconception with euthanasia delays timely care and makes inappropriate patient management. Objective: To examine the magnitude of misconceptions between palliative care and euthanasia among Thai general practitioners, explore the association with knowledge, attitudes, and practical experience, and assess the association between misconception and confidence in practicing and referring patients to palliative care centers. Methods: All 144 general practitioners who were going to start residency training at Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital in 2021 participated in this observational cross-sectional study. A chi-square test was utilized to examine the relationship between misconception and knowledge, attitude, practical experience, confidence to practice, and confidence to refer patients. Multivariable logistic regression was carried out while controlling for age, sex, knowledge, attitude, and experience to examine the relationship between misconception and confidence to practice and refer patients for palliative care. Statistical significance was defined at p < 0.05. Results: About 41% of general physicians had misconceptions regarding palliative care and euthanasia. High knowledge was associated with a lower level of misconception (p = 0.01). The absence of misconceptions was weakly associated with a higher level of confidence in practicing palliative care, with an adjusted odds ratio of 1.51 (95% confidence interval 0.73 to 3.10, p = 0.07). Conclusion: High misconception rates between palliative care and euthanasia among young Thai physicians might impact their confidence in delivering palliative care. Training initiatives for medical students and practitioners can mitigate misconceptions, fostering better palliative care utilization in Thailand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- CROSS-sectional method
PALLIATIVE treatment
RESEARCH funding
GENERAL practitioners
SCIENTIFIC observation
MULTIPLE regression analysis
PHYSICIANS' attitudes
WORK experience (Employment)
CONFIDENCE
CHI-squared test
DESCRIPTIVE statistics
EUTHANASIA
PROFESSIONS
ODDS ratio
CONFIDENCE intervals
PSYCHOSOCIAL factors
MEDICAL referrals
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1472684X
- Volume :
- 23
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- BMC Palliative Care
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 176562316
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-024-01430-6