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Patient Perceptions of Palliative Care in Surgery: A Qualitative Study
Claire Morton1, Amanda Reich2, Weijia Sun2
1Center for Surgery and Public Health (C.M., A.R., W.S., H.D., O.F., M.T.K., D.D., Z.C.), Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Patient Reported Outcomes, Value, and Experiences Center (C.M.), Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Department of Surgery (C.M.), Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
|February 28, 2026
Summary
Patients often misunderstand palliative care (PC), equating it with end-of-life treatment. However, many surgical patients are open to discussing PC
Area of Science:
- Palliative Care
- Surgical Oncology
- Geriatric Medicine
Background:
- Palliative care (PC) integration in surgical settings is underutilized despite professional recommendations.
- Understanding patient perspectives is crucial for improving PC integration in surgery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate patient perceptions and contextual factors influencing palliative care integration in surgical practice.
- To explore how seriously ill older adults view and engage with palliative care during surgical treatment.
Main Methods:
- Employed ethnographic observations (207) and semi-structured interviews (19) with seriously ill older adults undergoing surgery.
- Focused on patient awareness, perceptions, and behaviors related to palliative care.
Main Results:
- Patients frequently equated palliative care with hospice or end-of-life care, believing it conflicted with surgical recovery.
- Despite misconceptions, patients expressed concerns aligning with PC domains (e.g., psychosocial burdens) during surgical consultations.
- Patient receptiveness to PC integration varied; some desired comprehensive inclusion, while others preferred surgeons focus solely on technical aspects.
Conclusions:
- Patient understanding of palliative care is often limited to end-of-life care, posing a barrier to its integration in surgical pathways.
- Patients' willingness to discuss broader PC issues with surgeons indicates potential for enhanced integration beyond technical surgical care.
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