Chinese oncologists’ knowledge, attitudes and practice towards palliative care and end of life issues

BACKGROUND: Oncologists` knowledge and attitudes to palliative care (PC) and end of life (EOF) should be highlighted in order to give them effective education. This study is intended to provide a descriptive analysis of oncologists’ knowledge, attitudes and practice toward PC and EOF issues in Mainland China. METHODS: The questionnaire survey with 24 items investigating oncologists’ demographic information, knowledge and attitudes toward PC and EOF issues was conducted among Chinese Oncology clinicians. RESULTS: The participants had a mean of 10.10 years practice in oncology. 43 (31.2 %) participants had received PC education. 73.9 % of the participants believed that PC should be considered when patients were not suitable to take surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and other anti-cancer therapies. 72.5 % of the participants believed that early PC integration can improve the quality of life in patients. Most of the oncology clinicians (73.9 %) believed that the doctor-in-charge was the appropriate person to inform patients of the diagnosis. However, only 11 participants chose to inform the diagnosis and disease prognosis to the patients, whereas 39.9 % of the participants chose to disclose it to Family/Caregivers first. Besides, Chinese oncologists were obviously unfamiliar with the concepts of euthanasia and related issues. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicated the insufficient knowledge toward PC and related issues of the Chinese oncologists. More attention should be paid on the education of PC among Oncologists in Mainland China.