Knowledge and Attitude toward Hospice Palliative Care among Community-Dwelling Aged Taiwanese—Analysis of Related Factors

Abstract

Background: This study was conducted to investigate the knowledge and attitude toward hospice palliative care (HPC) among the elderly, defined as 65 years of age and older, living in the metropolitan area of Taiwan. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among the elderly people who received a senior citizen health examination from March to November 2009. A total of 1332 valid questionnaires were returned. Results: Among these individuals, 57.0% recognized the term HPC, of which only 11.7% had heard it from healthcare personnel; 15.2% would like to endorse “Do-Not-Resuscitate” (DNR) on the National Health Insurance Integrated Circuit Card (NHI IC card); and among the 477 participants considering themselves to understand HPC, 65.1% did not think that HPC meant “DNR.” The analysis of t-test and analysis of variance indicates that better knowledge of HPC is more likely present among the participants with higher education levels, those who adopt healthy behaviors, individuals who are aware of HPC, and those who believe that they understand the concept of HPC. The logistic regression analysis demonstrated that a high percentage of the participants who were younger and had higher education levels and who paid attention to news related to health and medicine chose to endorse DNR on the NHI IC card. Conclusion: Providing information to those who are less educated and do not adopt healthy behaviors can improve overall HPC-related knowledge and the endorsement rate of “DNR” on the NHI IC card. Meanwhile, healthcare personnel are encouraged to discuss end-of-life care with elderly people at the proper time.

Keywords

• advance directives
• educational status
• electronic health records
• health behaviors
• terminal care