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Palliative Care 2016
September 29-30, 2016
Volume 6 Issue 5(Suppl) J Palliat Care Med
ISSN: 2165-7386 JPCM, an open access journal
conferenceseries .com
September 29-30, 2016 Toronto, Canada
2nd Global Congress onHospice & Palliative Care
Megan Vierhout et al., J Palliat Care Med 2016, 6:5(Suppl)
THE VIEWS OF PATIENTS WITH BRAIN CANCER TOWARDS PALLIATIVE CARE: A QUALITATIVE
STUDY
Megan Vierhouta , Maureen Danielsb, Paolo Mazzottac , Warren Mason b and Mark Bernsteina,c
aToronto Western Hospital, Canada
bPrincess Margaret Cancer Center, Canada
cUniversity of Toronto, Canada
Palliative care is a specialty aimed at providing optimal care to patients with life-threatening conditions and has been shown
to improve length of survival and quality of life, especially when introduced early. It can be administered in a hospital, a
hospice (i.e. palliative care unit) or in a home-based setting. In this study the perceptions and attitudes regarding palliative care
of patients with brain cancer were explored using qualitative research methodology. Convenience sampling was used to accrue
patients at the Brain Tumor Clinic at Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network and 35 semi-structured
interviews were conducted over a four-month period. Interviews were audiotaped and transcribed, and the data were subjected
to thematic analysis. Seven overarching themes emerged from the data: 1) Patients prefer to be educated about palliative care as
an option early in their illness, even if they are fearful of it; 2) there is a pre-conceived idea that palliative care is directly linked
to active dying, and this generates fear in some patients; 3) patients are open to palliative care if they believe it will not diminish
optimism; 4) patients would prefer to receive palliative care in the home; 5) increased time with caregivers and family are the
main appeals of home care; 6) patients believe palliative care can contribute to their emotional well-being; 7) patients express
dissatisfaction with brief and superficial interactions with health care providers. Overall, when educated on the true meaning
of palliative care, most patients express interest in accessing palliative care services.
Biography
Megan Vierhout is a fourth year Honors Life Science undergraduate student at McMaster University and a research student at Toronto Western Hospital, working
under Mark Bernstein. She has been a volunteer in various palliative care settings, including Hamilton Health Sciences St. Peter's Hospital and St. Peter's
Residence at Chedoke since 2013. She is currently interested in qualitative research, and her past research focuses have included palliative care for brain cancer
patients and the immunological gut-brain axis.