Tara Devi Laabar1,2, Christobel Saunders3, Kirsten Auret4, Claire E Johnson5,6,7. 1. Medical School, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, 6009, Perth, Western Australia, Australia. taradevi.laabar@research.uwa.edu.au. 2. Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Public Health, Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan, Thimphu, Bhutan. taradevi.laabar@research.uwa.edu.au. 3. Medical School, Surgery Division, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, 6009, Perth, Western Australia, Australia. 4. Rural Clinical School of Western Australia, The University of Western Australia, Science Building M701, 35 Stirling Terrace, 6330, Albany, Western Australia, Australia. 5. Medical School, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, 6009, Perth, Western Australia, Australia. 6. Monash Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University, 10 Chancellors Walk, Wellington Road, 3800, Clayton, Victoria, Australia. 7. Australian Health Services Research Institute (AHSRI), University of Wollongong, Building 234, Innovation Campus, 2522, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Palliative care improves the quality of lives of patients and families affected by advanced illnesses through the prevention and relief of suffering. While palliative care is well established in developed countries, it is inadequate or non-existent in most developing countries. Palliative care is an emerging concept in Bhutan, a tiny Himalayan Kingdom. A small community palliative care service is available in the national referral hospital with three dedicated inpatient palliative care beds. This study explored the needs for palliative care among patients diagnosed with advanced illnesses and is a component of a larger project aimed to inform a suitable palliative care model for the country. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. A survey, using a structured questionnaire including the EORTC QLQ-C30, was carried out among patients with advanced illness in hospitals, primary care units and communities across the country. Purposeful and snowball sampling strategies were used to recruit study participants. RESULTS: Seventy (76%), out of 93 eligible patients, agreed to participate in the survey. Participants reported low to moderate scores on physical, role, emotional, cognitive and social functioning, a moderate score for the global health/ quality of life scale and moderately high (worse) scores in symptoms including fatigue, pain, insomnia, loss of appetite and the financial impact from the disease. CONCLUSIONS: The symptom burden experienced by patients affected by advanced illnesses demonstrates the need for palliative care in Bhutan. These findings will help inform the development of a public health-focused palliative care model, modified to the Bhutanese context, as recommended by the World Health Organization.
BACKGROUND: Palliative care improves the quality of lives of patients and families affected by advanced illnesses through the prevention and relief of suffering. While palliative care is well established in developed countries, it is inadequate or non-existent in most developing countries. Palliative care is an emerging concept in Bhutan, a tiny Himalayan Kingdom. A small community palliative care service is available in the national referral hospital with three dedicated inpatient palliative care beds. This study explored the needs for palliative care among patients diagnosed with advanced illnesses and is a component of a larger project aimed to inform a suitable palliative care model for the country. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. A survey, using a structured questionnaire including the EORTC QLQ-C30, was carried out among patients with advanced illness in hospitals, primary care units and communities across the country. Purposeful and snowball sampling strategies were used to recruit study participants. RESULTS: Seventy (76%), out of 93 eligible patients, agreed to participate in the survey. Participants reported low to moderate scores on physical, role, emotional, cognitive and social functioning, a moderate score for the global health/ quality of life scale and moderately high (worse) scores in symptoms including fatigue, pain, insomnia, loss of appetite and the financial impact from the disease. CONCLUSIONS: The symptom burden experienced by patients affected by advanced illnesses demonstrates the need for palliative care in Bhutan. These findings will help inform the development of a public health-focused palliative care model, modified to the Bhutanese context, as recommended by the World Health Organization.
Entities:
Keywords:
Advanced illnesses; Bhutan; Function; Non‐malignant; Palliative care; Public health strategy; Symptoms; cancer
Authors: Breffni Hannon; Camilla Zimmermann; Felicia M Knaul; Richard A Powell; Faith N Mwangi-Powell; Gary Rodin Journal: J Clin Oncol Date: 2015-11-17 Impact factor: 44.544
Authors: Katherine E Sleeman; Maja de Brito; Simon Etkind; Kennedy Nkhoma; Ping Guo; Irene J Higginson; Barbara Gomes; Richard Harding Journal: Lancet Glob Health Date: 2019-05-22 Impact factor: 26.763
Authors: Patricia Bonilla-Sierra; Ana Magdalena Vargas-Martínez; Fatima Leon-Larios; Joselin Valeria Arciniega Carrión; Tatiana Cecibel Jiménez Alverca; María de Las Mercedes Lomas-Campos; José Rafael González-López Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-05-16 Impact factor: 3.390