Heckel M, Peters J, Schweighart S, Habermann M, Ostgathe C (2024)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2024
Background: Literature reviews reveal poor knowledge and awareness of palliative care in the public. Health literacy deficits impact access to palliative care. Objectives: The aim of this manuscript is to explore the public perception of palliative care in Germany. Design: Triangulated qualitative research design: a snowball-spread online survey and a random pedestrian survey. Setting/Subjects: Citizens in Germany. Results: The pedestrian survey (n = 100) revealed 34% of the participants being not familiar with palliative care. The online survey (n = 994) 5.7% of participants reported to not know what palliative care was. The public's perception of palliative care is mainly medicine oriented, referring to inpatient care for the immediately dying; however, further significant misperceptions were scarce. Conclusions: The public perception shows an indistinct picture of palliative care, and some misconceptions about the objectives and areas of responsibility of the subject, meanwhile, palliative care is known to a majority of people. Understanding partly incomplete pictures of patients and relatives may help to react appropriately in staff-patient interactions and improve public relations.
APA:
Heckel, M., Peters, J., Schweighart, S., Habermann, M., & Ostgathe, C. (2024). Knowledge and Public Perception of Palliative Care in Germany. Journal of palliative medicine. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2023.0630
MLA:
Heckel, Maria, et al. "Knowledge and Public Perception of Palliative Care in Germany." Journal of palliative medicine (2024).
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