Physicians' views of the use of morphine in palliative care: a cross-sectional survey from a tertiary care centre in Northern Sri Lanka.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Palliative care is not readily available in many lower middle-income countries and Sri Lanka is not an exemption for this. Morphine is one of the key drug available for symptoms (pain and dyspnoea) alleviation among palliative care patients. However, due to various reasons, it was noted that morphine drug was underutilised in palliation. No studies have been done to identify reasons for underutilisation in Northern Sri Lanka. As such, this study attempts to identify factors that limit the usage of morphine in palliative care among physicians working at Teaching Hospital, Jaffna.

Methods

This cross-sectional survey was conducted among 216 physicians in March-April 2024 using a self-administrated questionnaire distributed to them. Data was analysed using SPSS (29).

SUBMITTER: Nisahan B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11995557 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature