Training physicians to provide basic-level palliative care: an evaluation of a novel training programme

Background Governments have an obligation to provide palliative care as a part of achieving Universal Health Coverage. This obligation to provide palliative care has grown significantly due to the immense suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic to patients and their carers. The successful delivery of palliative care, however, requires a healthcare workforce that is trained to provide palliative care at all levels. It is especially important to be able to train healthcare workers in basic-level palliative care to expand the health system’s capacity to provide palliative care. Objectives The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of this training programme on the participants’ interest and knowledge in palliative care, and their preparedness to deliver basic-level palliative care. Methods We developed a novel training programme for basic palliative care using didactic and participatory learning methods, along with a mentoring system. The programme was delivered over 6 months. 38 physicians were trained. A survey to evaluate the participants’ interest and knowledge of palliative care, as well as their preparedness to provide palliative care was conducted at 3 timepoints – pre-training, post-training, and 3 months post-training. Results Improvements in the interest (4.05 vs 4.24, p<0.05) and knowledge of palliative care (83.05 vs 93.10, p<0.001), and the preparedness to provide various aspects of palliative care were observed post-training. These improvements were sustained after 3 months post-training. Conclusions A training programme using didactic and participatory learning methods, along with a mentor-mentee system can be effective in training physicians to provide basic-level palliative care.