BACKGROUND: Patients with advanced cancer often desire home-based care, placing general practitioners (GPs) at the centre of complex clinical situations. The objective of this article was to determine GPs' needs when providing home-based palliative care in collaboration with existing palliative care services. METHODS: A survey of GPs was conducted to determine knowledge, skills and confidence in providing community-based palliative care. RESULTS: Of the 56 respondents, 82% reported that they were involved in palliative management of at least one cancer patient in the previous year. A significant number of GPs (31%) lacked confidence in providing this care because of patient complexity, inadequate training and insufficient resources. Other barriers included poor communication from specialists and treating teams. Factors facilitating provision of home-based palliative care were community palliative care services and links to hospital-based palliative care teams. DISCUSSION: This survey highlights the importance of support and resources to empower GPs to confidently provide home-based palliative care for patients with advanced cancer.
BACKGROUND:Patients with advanced cancer often desire home-based care, placing general practitioners (GPs) at the centre of complex clinical situations. The objective of this article was to determine GPs' needs when providing home-based palliative care in collaboration with existing palliative care services. METHODS: A survey of GPs was conducted to determine knowledge, skills and confidence in providing community-based palliative care. RESULTS: Of the 56 respondents, 82% reported that they were involved in palliative management of at least one cancerpatient in the previous year. A significant number of GPs (31%) lacked confidence in providing this care because of patient complexity, inadequate training and insufficient resources. Other barriers included poor communication from specialists and treating teams. Factors facilitating provision of home-based palliative care were community palliative care services and links to hospital-based palliative care teams. DISCUSSION: This survey highlights the importance of support and resources to empower GPs to confidently provide home-based palliative care for patients with advanced cancer.
Authors: Christina M Bernardes; Vanessa Beesley; Shaouli Shahid; Linda Medlin; Gail Garvey; Patricia C Valery Journal: Support Care Cancer Date: 2020-08-29 Impact factor: 3.603
Authors: Jun Watanabe; Hiroyuki Teraura; Kenichi Komatsu; Hironori Yamaguchi; Kazuhiko Kotani Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-12-02 Impact factor: 3.390
Authors: Anne Herrmann; Mariko L Carey; Alison C Zucca; Lucy A P Boyd; Bernadette J Roberts Journal: BMC Palliat Care Date: 2019-10-31 Impact factor: 3.234