ArticlePloS one2016
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.
Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed.
- Physicians' perspectives of palliative care quality in nursing homes: a cross-sectional study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2027Article
- Readiness for home-based palliative care among primary caregivers: an explanatory sequential mixed methods study.BMC palliative care · 2026Article
- CARE-HOUSE: developing a framework for conceptualizing social implications of digital health technologies in palliative care.BMC palliative care · 2026Article
- Article
- Comforting styles of serious illness conversations: a Swiss wide factorial survey study.BMC medicine · 2025Article
- Exploring hope and expectations amidst the shadows: Navigating through the hearts of cancer patients admitted to a palliative care unit.Palliative & supportive care · 2025Article
- Determining the cut-off value for the Minimal Documentation System (MIDOS2) screening tool to initiate specialized palliative care based on patient's subjective need for palliative support and symptom burden in inpatients with advanced cancer.Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology · 2024Article
- Palliative Care Needs and Responses Among Lung Cancer Patients: Insights from a Provincial Hospital in Vietnam.Materia socio-medica · 2024Article
- Family physicians' involvement in palliative cancer care.Cancer medicine · 2023Article
- The level of knowledge about palliative care in Iranian patients with cancer.BMC palliative care · 2022Article
- The silent transition from curative to palliative treatment: a qualitative study about cancer patients' perceptions of end-of-life discussions with oncologists.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2021Article
- Article
- Understanding the role of regulatory flexibility and context sensitivity in preventing burnout in a palliative home care team.PloS one · 2020Article
- Patients' attitude and knowledge towards resuscitation and advance care planning at the palliative care unit.European journal of cancer care · 2019Article
- Implementation of palliative care for patients with terminal diseases from the viewpoint of healthcare personnel.BMC research notes · 2019Article
- "Small small interventions, big big roles"- a qualitative study of patient, care-giver and health-care worker experiences of a palliative care programme in Kerala, India.BMC palliative care · 2019Article
- Revisiting the need for virtue in medical practice: a reflection upon the teaching of Edmund Pellegrino.Philosophy, ethics, and humanities in medicine : PEHM · 2018Article
- Establishing end-of-life boards for palliative care of patients with advanced diseases.Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2018Article
- A Pilgrim's Journey-When Parkinson's Disease Comes to an End in Nursing Homes.Frontiers in neurology · 2018Article
- Demystification of palliative care: what palliative care teams don't want you to think about them.Memo · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe 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.
methodsThe 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.
resultsThe results revealed four themes: (1) information about palliative care, (2) supportive care needs, (3) being treated in a palliative care unit, and (4) qualities required of palliative care physicians. The data showed that patients lack information about palliative care, that help in social concerns plays a central role in palliative care, and attentiveness as well as symptom management are important to patients. Patients desire a personal patient-physician relationship. The qualities of a good palliative care physician were honesty, the ability to listen, taking time, being experienced in their field, speaking the patient's language, being human, and being gentle. Patients experienced relief when being treated in a palliative care unit, perceived their care as an interdisciplinary activity, and felt that their burdensome symptoms were being attended to with emotional care. Negative perceptions included the overtly intense treatment.
conclusionsThe results of the present study offer an insight into what patients expect from palliative care teams. Being aware of patient's needs will enable medical teams to improve professional and individualized care.
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