Knowledge and Attitude Toward Geriatric Palliative Care among Health Professionals in Vietnam

Huyen Thi Thanh Vu, Long Hoang Nguyen, Thanh Xuan Nguyen, Thu Thi Hoai Nguyen, Tam Ngoc Nguyen, Huong Thi Thu Nguyen, Anh Trung Nguyen, Thang Pham, Cuong Tat Nguyen, Bach Xuan Tran, Carl A. Latkin, Cyrus S. H. Ho and Roger C. M. Ho
Additional contact information
Huyen Thi Thanh Vu: Gerontology department, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Long Hoang Nguyen: Center of Excellence in Behavioral Medicine, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City 770000, Vietnam
Thanh Xuan Nguyen: Gerontology department, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Thu Thi Hoai Nguyen: Gerontology department, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Tam Ngoc Nguyen: Gerontology department, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Huong Thi Thu Nguyen: Gerontology department, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Anh Trung Nguyen: Gerontology department, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Thang Pham: Gerontology department, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Cuong Tat Nguyen: Institute for Global Health Innovations, Duy Tan University, Da Nang 550000, Vietnam
Bach Xuan Tran: Institute for Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Hanoi Medical University, Hanoi 100000, Vietnam
Carl A. Latkin: Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Cyrus S. H. Ho: Department of Psychological Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore 119074, Singapore
Roger C. M. Ho: Center of Excellence in Behavioral Medicine, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, Ho Chi Minh City 770000, Vietnam

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 15, 1-11

Abstract: This study assessed the knowledge and attitude toward palliative care for the elderly among health professionals in a tertiary geriatric hospital in Vietnam and explored their determinants. Cross-sectional data were obtained on 161 geriatric health professionals at the National Geriatric Hospital. Modified-Palliative Care Knowledge Test and Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying instruments were used to measure knowledge and attitude toward geriatric palliative care. As a result, 40.5% physicians and 74.2% nurses showed insufficient knowledge about geriatric palliative care ( p < 0.05). The lowest score was for dyspnea, following by gastrointestinal and pain problems. No significant difference was found regarding the attitude between physicians and nurses ( p > 0.05). Health professional category, age, and years of experience were found to be associated with knowledge about palliative care. Meanwhile, only knowledge score had correlations with total attitude score (Coef. = 0.2; 95%CI = 0.1–0.3), attitude toward patients (Coef. = 0.1; 95%CI = 0.0–0.1) and toward patients’ family (Coef. = 0.1; 95%CI = 0.0–0.1). This study highlights a significant knowledge gap and preferable attitude toward palliative care for the elderly among physicians and nurses in the geriatric hospital. Intensive training about geriatric palliative care, focusing on pain, dyspnea and gastrointestinal issue management, should be performed to ensure the quality of palliative care services, especially in nurses.

Keywords: palliative care; elderly; geriatric; PCKT; FATCOD; Vietnam (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/15/2656/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/15/2656/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:15:p:2656-:d:251462

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().