ArticleBMC palliative care2026
"What you don't have, you can't give": a mixed methods assessment of healthcare professionals' palliative care knowledge and attitudes in Nigeria.
Article in BMC palliative care, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionAlthough palliative care (PC) is recognized as a component of comprehensive care throughout the life course and universal health coverage, more than 85% of the global need for PC is unmet. Nigeria has isolated PC provision, with a narrow scope, limited availability, and inadequate support for PC services, despite having adequate legislation to support the operation in the country. Given the rising incidence of chronic illnesses that are amenable to PC in Nigeria, this study aimed to explore healthcare professionals' (HCPs') knowledge and attitudes towards PC and identify targets for improving PC delivery nationally.
methodsUsing a mixed-methods convergent design, an online survey was distributed to multidisciplinary HCPs in Nigeria. The survey included validated tools that assessed knowledge and attitudes related to PC, pain management, and end-of-life (EOL) care. Five focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted and qualitatively analyzed using rapid matrix analysis to triangulate themes with survey responses.
resultsFrom February to December 2024, 117 HCPs from 26 hospitals across five of six geopolitical zones of Nigeria completed the quantitative survey. Most respondents were nurses (67%) or physicians (26%), worked in public teaching hospitals (70%), and provided care for patients with cancer (94%). Over half (56%) received some PC training, though many expressed interest in additional training on pain management (65%), EOL communication skills (50%), and EOL ethics and decision-making (49%). FGDs from three geopolitical zones revealed 3 major themes: (1) HCPs have a shared high-level understanding of the goals of PC with varied perceptions around PC delivery; (2) Challenges in the practical delivery of PC include systemic barriers, opioid costs and stigma, and patient receptivity; (3) Delivering PC impacts HCPs' job satisfaction and takes a psychological toll. Participant-identified strategies for overcoming barriers to PC delivery included the development of standardized PC protocols, opioid policy changes, patient education about PC, and HCP training and support.
conclusionHCPs in this study demonstrated broad interest in and knowledge about PC. However, systemic barriers and limited patient and caregiver receptivity limit PC uptake in clinical practice. Future initiatives should involve clinical training related to PC communication, community education programs, and implementation of contextually appropriate protocols and policies for PC delivery.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.