What Makes a Good Palliative Care Physician? A Qualitative Study about the Patient's Expectations and Needs when Being Admitted to a Palliative Care Unit.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

The aims of the study were to examine a) patients' knowledge of palliative care, b) patients' expectations and needs when being admitted to a palliative care unit, and c) patient's concept of a good palliative care physician.

Methods

The study was based on a qualitative methodology, comprising 32 semistructured interviews with advanced cancer patients admitted to the palliative care unit of the Medical University of Vienna. Interviews were conducted with 20 patients during the first three days after admission to the unit and after one week, recorded digitally, and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using NVivo 10 software, based on thematic analysis enhanced with grounded theory techniques.

Results

The results revealed four themes: (1) information abou

SUBMITTER: Masel EK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4936709 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature