Dataset Information

Attitudes and educational needs of emergency doctors providing palliative and end-of-life care in Hong Kong: a cross-sectional analysis based on a self-report study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Due to the ageing population in Hong Kong, the importance and need of palliative care and end-of-life (EOL) care are coming under the spotlight. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the attitudes of emergency doctors in providing palliative and EOL care in Hong Kong, and to investigate the educational needs of emergency doctors in these areas.

Methods

A questionnaire was used to study the attitudes of ED doctors of six different hospitals in Hong Kong. The questionnaire recorded the attitudes of the doctors towards the role of palliative and EOL care in EDs, the specific obstacles faced, their comfort level and further educational needs in providing such care. The attitudes of emergency doctors of EDs with EOL care services were compared with those of EDs without such services.

Results

In total, 145 emergency doctors completed the questionnaire, of which 60 respondents were from EDs with EOL care services. A significant number of participants recognized that the management of the dying process was essential in ED. Providing palliative and EOL care is also accepted as an important competence and responsibility, but the role and priority of palliative and EOL care in ED are uncertain. Lack of time and access to palliative care specialists/ teams were the major barriers. Doctors from EDs with EOL care services are more comfortable in providing such care and discuss it with patients and their relatives. Further educational needs were identified, including the management of physical complaints, communication skills, and EOL care ethics.

Conclusions

The study identified obstacles in promoting palliative and EOL care in the EDs Hong Kong. With the combination of elements of routine ED practice and a basic palliative medicine skill set, it would promote the development of palliative and EOL care in Emergency Medicine in the future.

SUBMITTER: Wong KH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7988912 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Attitudes and educational needs of emergency doctors providing palliative and end-of-life care in Hong Kong: a cross-sectional analysis based on a self-report study.

Wong Kwun Hang KH Yang Li Chuan Marc LCM Woo Kam Wing Raymond KWR Wong Oi Fung OF Kwong Wing Yan WY Tse Choi Fung CF Lam Shing Kit Tommy SKT Ma Hing Man HM Lit Chau Hung Albert CHA Ho Hiu Fai HF Shih Yau Ngai YN

BMC palliative care 20210323 1

<h4>Background</h4>Due to the ageing population in Hong Kong, the importance and need of palliative care and end-of-life (EOL) care are coming under the spotlight. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the attitudes of emergency doctors in providing palliative and EOL care in Hong Kong, and to investigate the educational needs of emergency doctors in these areas.<h4>Methods</h4>A questionnaire was used to study the attitudes of ED doctors of six different hospitals in Hong Kong. The ques ...[more]

PMID: 33757502

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Project description:BackgroundHypertension is the most common chronic disease and is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Its screening, diagnosis, and management depend heavily on accurate blood pressure (BP) measurement. It is recommended that the diagnosis of hypertension should be confirmed or corroborated by out-of-office BP values, measured using ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) and home BP monitoring (HBPM). When office BP is used, automated office BP (AOBP) measurement method, which automatically provides an average of 3-5 BP readings, should be preferred. This study aimed to describe the BP measurement methods commonly used by doctors in primary care in Hong Kong, to screen, diagnose, and manage hypertensive patients.MethodsIn this cross-sectional survey, all doctors registered in the Hong Kong "Primary Care Directory" were mailed a questionnaire, asking their preferred BP-measuring methods to screen, diagnose, and manage hypertensive patients. Furthermore, we also elicited information on the usual number of office BP or HBPM readings obtained, to diagnose or manage hypertension.ResultsOf the 1738 doctors included from the directory, 445 responded. Manual measurement using a mercury or aneroid device was found to be the commonest method to screen (63.1%), diagnose (56.4%), and manage (72.4%) hypertension. There was a significant underutilisation of ABPM, with only 1.6% doctors using this method to diagnose hypertension. HBPM was used by 22.2% and 56.8% of the respondents to diagnose and manage hypertension, respectively. A quarter (26.7%) of the respondents reported using only one in-office BP reading, while around 40% participants reported using ≥12 HBPM readings. Doctors with specialist qualification in family medicine were more likely to use AOBP in clinics and to obtain the recommended number of office BP readings for diagnosis and management of hypertension.ConclusionPrimary Care doctors in Hong Kong prefer to use manual office BP values, measured using mercury or aneroid devices, to screen, diagnose, and manage hypertension, highlighting a marked underutilisation of AOBP and out-of-office BP measuring techniques, especially that of ABPM. Further studies are indicated to understand the underlying reasons and to minimise the gap between real-life clinical practice and those recommended, based on scientific advances.Trial registrationClinicaltrial.gov; ref. no.: NCT03926897.

Dataset Information

Attitudes and educational needs of emergency doctors providing palliative and end-of-life care in Hong Kong: a cross-sectional analysis based on a self-report study.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Attitudes and educational needs of emergency doctors providing palliative and end-of-life care in Hong Kong: a cross-sectional analysis based on a self-report study.

Similar Datasets

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