Palliative care needs in neurological disorders: descriptive cross-sectional study.

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Palliative Care
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Neurological conditions often lead to complex care needs.
• Palliative care is crucial for improving quality of life in chronic and progressive diseases.
• Early identification of palliative care needs is essential for timely intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess palliative care needs in patients with neurological disorders using the Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool (SPICT).
• To explore factors associated with identifying these palliative care needs.
• To compare SPICT-identified needs with physician recognition.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional descriptive study involving 337 patients with neurological disorders in a Chinese tertiary hospital.
• Convenience sampling was used for patient recruitment.
• Data collected via the Chinese version of SPICT; statistical analysis included descriptive statistics and chi-squared tests.

Main Results:

• The SPICT identified palliative care needs in 45.1% of patients, whereas physicians identified only 0.3%.
• Factors influencing identification included age, body temperature, hospital stay duration, admission route, and scores from scales like Braden, Padua, Barthel, NRS 2002, and GCS.
• A significant gap exists between identified and unrecognized palliative care needs.

Conclusions:

• A substantial number of patients with neurological disorders have unmet and unrecognized palliative care needs.
• The SPICT is a valuable tool for early identification of these needs.
• Timely and appropriate palliative care interventions can be supported by early identification using the SPICT.