ASSESSMENT OF QUALITY AND ACCESS TO PALLIATIVE CARE BY POPULATION: A SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH

Abstract

Significance. One of the least studied aspects of access to and quality of medical palliative care delivery to population is the assessment of subjective perception of satisfaction of palliative care recipients, their relatives and legal representatives with quality of palliative care provided, availability of medicines, including those containing narcotics and psychotropic substances, and medical products for home use. The purpose of the study: to assess subjective perception of satisfaction of palliative care recipients and identify factors affecting this perception. Material and methods. The study material was based on results of a sociological survey of the Russian population conducted by the method of personal interviews at the place of residence (apartment survey) and at the place of palliative care. The survey sample equaled to 600 respondents. The sampling error added up to 3.37% with statistical significance as p<0.1, which is sufficient for initial assessment of palliative care quality in the country. Results. The overall satisfaction with palliative care equaled to 88.7% for inpatient palliative care, and 92.1% for home-based palliative care. The most urgent problem for palliative care recipients remains receipt of prescription for narcotic drugs. The study has identified ongoing problems in this area of palliative care delivery to patients in need. The most favorable situation with accessibility of narcotic drugs is registered in pediatric recipients – none the respondents among legal representatives of the palliative care recipients noted any problems related to receiving narcotic drugs. The study has also identified a problem of insufficient awareness of availability of medical products to patients and their legal representatives, their rights and opportunities secured and provided by the state. Conclusion. In general, the results of the survey of palliative care recipients demonstrate a high level of satisfaction of the respondents with all parameters of palliative care delivery. Thus, the average assessment of satisfaction with quality of palliative care provided to patients both in hospital and at home equaled to 4.4. The study shows a need for further improvement of patient provision with narcotic drugs and improvement of the mechanism of informing palliative care recipients about their rights.