Attitudes and Barriers of Physicians toward Palliative Care in Critical Care Setting:Qualitative Content Analysis Using Open-ended Data from Nationwide Self-administrated Questionnaire Survey in Japan

Yuta Tanaka; Akane Kato; Kaori Ito; Yuko Igarashi; Satomi Kinoshita; Yoshiyuki Kizawa; Mitsunori Miyashita

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Attitudes and Barriers of Physicians toward Palliative Care in Critical Care Setting:Qualitative Content Analysis Using Open-ended Data from Nationwide Self-administrated Questionnaire Survey in Japan

VernacularTitle:救急・集中治療領域における医師の緩和ケアに対する認識と実践の障壁：ICUおよび救命救急センターの医師を対象とした自記式質問紙調査の自由記述データを用いた質的内容分析
Author: Yuta TANAKA ¹ ; Akane KATO ² ; Kaori ITO ³ ; Yuko IGARASHI ⁴ ; Satomi KINOSHITA ⁵ ; Yoshiyuki KIZAWA ⁶ ; Mitsunori MIYASHITA ¹
Author Information

1. Department of Palliative Nursing, Health Sciences, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine
2. Department of Adult and Geriatric Nursing, Health Sciences, Shinshu University School of Medicine
3. Department of Emergency Medicine, Division of Acute Care Surgery, Teikyo University School of Medicine
4. Department of Palliative Medicine, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine
5. College of Nursing, Kanto Gakuin University
6. Department of Palliative and Supportive Care Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba
Keywords: palliative care; critical care; intensive care units; attitude survey; qualitative research
From:Palliative Care Research 2023;18(2):129-136
CountryJapan
Language:Japanese
Abstract: Purpose: Palliative care implementation should take into account the perceptions and acceptability of healthcare providers. This study aimed to identify physicians’ perceptions of palliative care and barriers to palliative care practice in the critical care setting. Methods: A nationwide, self-administered questionnaire was distributed to physicians working in intensive care units, and free-text data were qualitatively analyzed. Results: The questionnaire was sent to 873 respondents, and 436 responded (50% response rate). Of these, 95 (11%) who responded to the open-ended sections were included in the analysis. Conclusion: Japanese physicians working in ICUs recognized that palliative care was their role and practiced it as part of their usual care. They felt, however, that the practice was difficult and not sufficient. Barriers to practice included the lack of human resources and availability of palliative care teams, and the lack of uniformity in the perception of palliative care in the critical care setting.