Dilip Kumar Biswas, Lily Modak Deb, Pallabi Dasgupta, Sima Maity, Abhijit Mukherjee, Soumyo Manna
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Palliative care deals with patients who are facing problems of life-threatening diseases. Under the Ayushman Bharat programme, a new cadre of Community Health Officers (CHOs) is provisioned at Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) who are nursing graduates. Being the team leader at the HWC level, having a low level of knowledge of palliative care would compromise their service. The study assessed the knowledge of CHOs about palliative care services in a rural district of Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, India.
A descriptive study with a cross-sectional design was carried out among 314 CHOs posted in different HWCs of Purba Medinipur, West Bengal, during July–August’ 2022. We used to collect data based on questionnaires of ‘Palliative-Care-Knowledge Questionnaire-Basic’ comprising items related to palliative care, the requirement of palliative care, pain management, communication, and dealing with psychosocial issues. A chi-square test was performed to check the association with educational- and experience-related variables and knowledge.
Overall, adequate knowledge was present in 216 (68.8%) and inadequate knowledge in 98 (31.2%) of CHOs. Improper knowledge was present regarding the role of oxygen supplementation in dying patients, the need for palliative care in human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, chronic non-malignant diseases, pain management, and communication about the prognosis of disease. The proportion of CHOs who had adequate knowledge who were highly educated (70%) and those who had previous job as CHO (73.3%). Almost similar knowledge scores were found among those who ever cared for or never cared for either terminally ill patients (P = 0.89) or cancer patients (P = 0.853).
In-depth knowledge was lacking among the CHOs. Training and re-training of CHOs to develop technical and communication skills will help them deliver proper palliative care.
期刊介绍:
Accounts of Chemical Research presents short, concise and critical articles offering easy-to-read overviews of basic research and applications in all areas of chemistry and biochemistry. These short reviews focus on research from the author’s own laboratory and are designed to teach the reader about a research project. In addition, Accounts of Chemical Research publishes commentaries that give an informed opinion on a current research problem. Special Issues online are devoted to a single topic of unusual activity and significance.
Accounts of Chemical Research replaces the traditional article abstract with an article "Conspectus." These entries synopsize the research affording the reader a closer look at the content and significance of an article. Through this provision of a more detailed description of the article contents, the Conspectus enhances the article's discoverability by search engines and the exposure for the research.