Awareness of palliative care among doctors of various departments in all four teaching medical colleges in a metropolitan city in Eastern India: A survey

To enquire about the level of awareness regarding various important aspects of palliative medicine among doctors of various departments in four Medical Colleges in Kolkata through a questionnaire.

A questionnaire was developed by few members of Indian Association of Palliative Care. It was distributed, to a convenience sample of doctors who worked at various departments in all four teaching hospitals in Kolkata. The distribution and collection of questionnaires was carried out within four months.

The results suggested that 85% of the doctors felt that cancer was the commonest reason for the palliative care teams to be involved. Seventy four percent of the doctors mentioned that pain control was their prime job; 53% said that they are enjoying their encounter with palliative care, so far; 77% of the doctors thought breaking bad news is necessary in further decision making process; only 22% of the doctors reported the WHO ladder of pain control sequentially, 35% of the doctors believed other forms of therapies are useful in relieving pain, 35% of the doctors thought that they gave enough importance and time for pain control; 77% said that they had heard about a hospice, among them still 61% of the doctors thought that the patients should spend last days of their life at home. Thinking of the future, 92% of the doctors think that more and more people will need palliative care in the coming days.

Amongst the doctors of various departments, there is a lack of training and awareness in palliative care. Almost all the doctors are interested and they are willing to have more training in pain control, breaking bad news, communication skills and terminal care.