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The Perspective of Non-oncologist Physicians on Patients with Metastatic Cancer and Palliative Care (ALONE Study): A Study of the Palliative Care Working Committee of the Turkish Oncology Group (TOG)

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Abstract

The aim of our study was to determine the perspective of non-oncologist physicians regarding their attitudes and beliefs associated with palliative care for patients with metastatic cancer. The study was planned as a cross-sectional survey, and non-oncologist physicians were reached via e-mail and social networking sites. The first part of the questionnaire involved demographic properties, the second part inquired as to the perspectives of participants regarding metastatic disease, and the third part was used to determine beliefs and attitudes about palliative care. All of the questions were five-point Likert-type questions. A total of 1734 physicians completed the questionnaire. The majority of participants were general surgeons or internal medicine specialists (21 and 18 %, respectively), were male (61 %), were younger than 50 years of age (54 %), worked in the town center (67 %), had more than 11 years of professional experience (57 %), and worked in a hospital without an active oncology service (86 %). A total of 71 % of participants identified all patients with metastatic cancer as being terminal stage, 62 % were unaware of palliative care techniques, 64 % did not know about common supportive care options, 59 % were against hospice, and 63 % had no opinion on resuscitation. We determined that non-oncologist physicians believed that all patients with metastatic cancer are at the terminal stage and that palliative/supportive care is the oncologist’s task. These data suggest that non-oncologist physicians would benefit from additional graduate and postgraduate courses on these topics.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the associations/societies that advertised our announcement for survey participants, including the Turkish Surgical Association, Turkish Society of Family Medicine, Turkish Society of Internal Medicine, and Turkish Thoracic Society, and Dr. Erdinc Nayir from Department of Medical Oncology, Mersin University Faculty of Medicine, admin of variety medical forums such as www.drtus.com and www.erdincnayir.com.

Conflict of interest

We certify that all of our affiliations with or without financial involvement, within the past 5 years and foreseeable future and, any organization or entity with a financial interest or conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript, are completely disclosed (e.g., employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, and royalties).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Mugla Sıtkı Kocman University, Mugla Universtesi Egitim ve Arastirma Hastanesi, Onkoloji Poliklinigi, 48000, Mugla, Turkey

    Ozgur Tanriverdi

  2. Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey

    Tugba Yavuzsen & Tulay Akman

  3. Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey

    Filiz Cay Senler

  4. Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey

    Burcu Yapar Taskoylu & Arzu Yaren

  5. Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Serdar Turhal

  6. Department of Medical Oncology, Bayindir Hospital, Ankara, Turkey

    Seref Komurcu

  7. Department of Prevantive Oncology, Institute of Oncology, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey

    Ruksan Cehreli

  8. Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Baskent University, Ankara, Turkey

    Ozgur Ozyilkan

Authors
  1. Ozgur Tanriverdi
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  2. Tugba Yavuzsen
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  3. Tulay Akman
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  4. Filiz Cay Senler
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  5. Burcu Yapar Taskoylu
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  6. Serdar Turhal
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  7. Seref Komurcu
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  8. Ruksan Cehreli
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  9. Arzu Yaren
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  10. Ozgur Ozyilkan
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Correspondence to Ozgur Tanriverdi.

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Tanriverdi, O., Yavuzsen, T., Akman, T. et al. The Perspective of Non-oncologist Physicians on Patients with Metastatic Cancer and Palliative Care (ALONE Study): A Study of the Palliative Care Working Committee of the Turkish Oncology Group (TOG). J Canc Educ 30, 253–259 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-015-0794-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-015-0794-3

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