Quebecers show an “insufficient understanding” of palliative care, deplores the Alliance of palliative care homes of Quebec. According to a survey released on Monday, the majority of them believe that it is, wrongly, comfort care reserved for dying patients.
The survey was conducted by the firm Ipsos among 1,000 people aged 30 and over, in order to better understand Quebecers’ perceptions of palliative care.
Conclusion: the majority of respondents think they know about palliative care, but misconceptions persist.
For example, most respondents (74%) associate palliative care with pain relief. However, less than half of them know all the elements that are part of it, such as psychological and spiritual support, bereavement support and physiotherapy.
In addition, the majority of Quebecers (79%) believe that palliative care is limited to the last days of life. On the contrary, they can “start early in the disease trajectory” and help the patient well beyond pain relief.
Finally, nearly half of the respondents (49%) wrongly believe that medical assistance in dying is part of palliative care.
“It is important for us to publicize the results of this survey, which clearly demonstrate the need to inform and educate the population about what palliative care really is,” said Diane Langlois, President of the Alliance des Maisons de palliative care of Quebec, which commissioned the survey.
“Demystifying palliative care”
The unveiling of the survey marks the start of National Hospice Palliative Care Week, which runs from May 7-13.
The lack of education and training of the population and caregivers “prove to be major factors that limit access to palliative care”, deplores the Alliance.
For example, 30% of respondents are unsure or mistakenly believe that palliative care will hasten death.
Moreover, less than half of them (40%) are aware that palliative care can be received at home and barely 28% in retirement homes. Furthermore, 28% of respondents believe that it is normal to feel pain at the end of life.
According to the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec, about 70% of adults die from a chronic disease.
“It is important to demystify palliative care so that more people can benefit from it, in the context of their choice and according to their needs,” reacted David Raynaud, manager for public interest advocacy at the Canadian Society. cancer.