Finding their place - general practitioners' experiences with palliative care-a Norwegian qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Palliative Care Research
• General Practice
• Qualitative Health Research

Background:

• Modern palliative care aims to support patients wishing to remain and die at home.
• Norway has a lower rate of home deaths compared to many European countries.
• General practitioners' (GPs') engagement is seen as crucial for increasing home deaths.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore GPs' experiences with palliative care.
• To understand GPs' perceived roles and contributions in palliative care.
• To identify factors influencing GP involvement in end-of-life care.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study using focus group interviews with 25 GPs.
• Semi-structured interview guide followed by verbatim transcription.
• Interpretative phenomenological analysis of interview data.

Main Results:

• GPs possess strengths in palliative care, including general medical knowledge, care coordination, and longitudinal patient/family understanding.
• Attitudes towards palliative care were generally positive, but formal role definitions varied.
• Three GP involvement levels emerged: highly involved, weakly involved, and uninvolved.

Conclusions:

• GPs have significant potential in palliative care, complementing specialist skills.
• Lack of role consensus among GPs requires attention.
• Specialized palliative care teams should consider how outreach impacts GP capacity and skills.