Primary healthcare professionals' knowledge and self-efficacy on palliative care.
Elisa Cavalheiro Libardi, Beatriz Aparecida Ozello Gutierrez
PMID 41337525WHAT IT FOUND
Most primary care professionals in São Paulo had contact with palliative care patients but lacked specific training.
Nurses reported higher confidence in patient communication and daily care tasks, while physicians scored higher on medication knowledge. All groups showed gaps in recognizing their own and others' roles in the multidisciplinary team.
Key findings
01Although 74% of participants had previous contact with palliative care patients, only 11.6% had received specific training in the area.
02Nurses showed the best self-efficacy indicators for identifying patient needs, offering complementary therapies, oral hygiene, and guidance on medication side effects.
03Physicians demonstrated greater knowledge and self-efficacy in pharmacological pain management and opioid prescription compared to other professional groups.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPsWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample size was small (146 participants) and limited to one city (São Paulo), so results may not apply to other regions in Brazil. The 'other professionals' group was too small to analyze individually, masking specific strengths or weaknesses of physiotherapists, occupational therapists, or speech-language pathologists. The knowledge subscale of the survey instrument had low internal consistency, making it less reliable for measuring what professionals actually know. Self-reported data may be subject to bias, as professionals might overestimate their competence or willingness to participate.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest or funding sources are reported in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the nurses' higher self-efficacy scores as evidence that they have better clinical knowledge or outcomes than physicians. The study measured confidence in performing tasks, not actual patient outcomes or validated competence, and the knowledge subscale had poor reliability.