Faculty, Staff and Student Publications
Publication Date
9-28-2023
Journal
BMC Palliative Care
DOI
10.1186/s12904-023-01259-5
PMID
37770965
PMCID
PMC10536755
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
9-28-2023
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-print
Abstract
Background: This nationwide survey studied the level of palliative care (PC) access for Chinese patients with cancer among cancer care providers either in tertiary general hospitals or cancer hospitals in China.
Methods: Using a probability-proportionate-to-size method, we identified local tertiary general hospitals with oncology departments to match cancer hospitals at the same geographic area. A PC program leader or a designee at each hospital reported available PC services, including staffing, inpatient and outpatient services, education, and research, with most questions adapted from a previous national survey on PC. The primary outcome was availability of a PC service.
Results: Most responders reported that some type of PC service (possibly called "comprehensive cancer care," "pain and symptom management," or "supportive care") was available at their institution (84.3% of tertiary general hospitals, 82.8% of cancer hospitals). However, cancer hospitals were significantly more likely than tertiary general hospitals to have a PC department or specialist (34.1% vs. 15.5%, p < 0.001). The most popular services were pain consultation (> 92%), symptom management (> 77%), comprehensive care plans (~ 60%), obtaining advanced directives and do-not-resuscitate orders (~ 45%), referrals to hospice (> 32%), and psychiatric assessment (> 25%). Cancer hospitals were also more likely than tertiary general hospitals to report having inpatient beds for PC (46.3% vs. 30.5%; p = 0.010), outpatient PC clinics (28.0% vs. 16.8%; p = 0.029), educational programs (18.2% vs. 9.0%, p = 0.014), and research programs (17.2% vs. 9.3%, p < 0.001).
Conclusions: Cancer hospitals are more likely to offer PC than are tertiary general hospitals in China. Our findings highlight opportunities to further increase the PC capacity in Chinese hospitals.
Keywords
Humans, Palliative Care, Cancer Care Facilities, Medical Oncology, Neoplasms, Hospices, Pain, Palliative care, Availability, Cancer, National survey, Tertiary general hospital, China
Published Open-Access
yes
Recommended Citation
Li, Xiaomei; Wang, Xin Shelley; Huang, Haili; et al., "National Survey on the Availability of Oncology Palliative Care Services at Tertiary General and Cancer Hospitals in China" (2023). Faculty, Staff and Student Publications. 5092.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/uthgsbs_docs/5092
Included in
Bioinformatics Commons, Biomedical Informatics Commons, Genetic Phenomena Commons, Medical Genetics Commons, Oncology Commons, Palliative Care Commons