1. The Impact of Qualification and Hospice Education on Staff Attitudes during Palliative Care in Pediatric Oncology Wards—A National Survey.
- Author
-
Salamon, Eszter, Fodor, Éva, Földesi, Enikő, Hauser, Peter, Kriván, Gergely, Csanádi, Krisztina, Garami, Miklós, Kovacs, Gabor, Csóka, Monika, Tiszlavicz, Lilla Györgyi, Kiss, Csongor, Dergez, Tímea, and Ottóffy, Gábor
- Subjects
HOSPICE care ,MEDICAL quality control ,DISCLOSURE ,THERAPEUTICS ,KRUSKAL-Wallis Test ,STATISTICS ,CHILDREN'S hospitals ,ATTITUDES of medical personnel ,RESEARCH methodology ,DENIAL (Psychology) ,ATTITUDE (Psychology) ,MEDICAL care ,PEDIATRIC oncology nursing ,INTERVIEWING ,MANN Whitney U Test ,FISHER exact test ,SURVEYS ,HOSPITAL wards ,PEDIATRIC nurses ,COMMUNICATION ,SECONDARY traumatic stress ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,RESEARCH funding ,PHYSICIANS ,MEDICAL practice ,CONTENT analysis ,THEMATIC analysis ,EMOTIONS ,DATA analysis software ,DATA analysis ,ONCOLOGY ,PALLIATIVE treatment ,EDUCATIONAL attainment ,MEDICAL specialties & specialists ,PSYCHOLOGICAL stress ,CHILDREN - Abstract
Background: Our knowledge about the attitudes of healthcare staff to palliative care in pediatric oncology is scarce. We aimed to assess their perceptions of palliative care in Hungary and find answers to the question of how to provide good palliative care for children. Method: Physicians (n = 30) and nurses (n = 43) working in the field of pediatric oncology (12 of them specialized in hospice care) were interviewed. Palliative care practice (communication, integration of palliative care, professionals' feelings and attitudes, and opportunities for improvement) was assessed by semi-structured interviews evaluated in a mixed quantitative and qualitative way by narrative categorical content analysis and thematic analysis. Results: All providers displayed high negative emotions, positive evaluations, and used many active verbs. Nurses showed higher levels of denial, more self-references, and were more likely to highlight loss. Physicians emphasized the importance of communication regarding adequate or inadequate palliative care. Hospice specialists showed a higher passive verb rate, a lower self-reference, a lower need for psychological support, and a greater emphasis on teamwork and professional aspects. Conclusion: Our results show that nurses are more emotionally stressed than doctors in palliative care in pediatric oncology. To our knowledge, a study comparing doctors and nurses in this field has yet to be carried out. Our results suggest that pediatric oncological staff can positively evaluate a child's palliative care despite the emotional strain. Regarding hospices, professional practice in palliative care may be a protective factor in reducing emotional distress and achieving professional well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF