Palliative care in everyday practice of radiation oncologists: Results from a web-based survey among medical members of the German Society for Radiation Oncology (DEGRO)

Purpose Little is known about the attitudes of radiation oncologists towards palliative care, about their competences in this field, and about the collaboration with palliative care specialists. Our aim was to close this gap and understand more about the importance of an additional qualification in palliative care. Methods Medical members of the German Society for Radiation Oncology (DEGRO) were electronically surveyed during November-December 2016. Results The survey was emailed successfully to 1110 addressees, whereas a total of 205 questionnaires were eligible for analysis (response rate 18.4%). 55 (26.8%) of the respondents had an additional qualification in palliative care. Physicians who had an additional qualification in palliative care (PC qualification) reported palliative care needs for their patients more frequently than the other respondents (89.0 vs. 82.7%, p = 0.008). Furthermore, they were most likely to report a high confidence in palliative care competences, such as communication skills & support for relatives (83.6 vs. 59.3%, p = 0.013), symptom control, and pain management (94.5 vs. 67.7%, p < 0.001 and 90.9 vs. 73.3%, p = 0.008, respectively). Respondents with a PC qualification more often involved palliative care specialists than the other respondents (63.3 vs. 39.3%, p = 0.007). Perceived main barriers regarding palliative care in radiation oncology included time aspects (9.2%), stigmata (8.5%), and the lack of interdisciplinary collaboration (8.5%). Conclusions This analysis demonstrated that aspects of palliative care strongly impact on daily practice in radiation oncology. Additional qualifications and comprehensive training in palliative medicine may contribute to improved patient care in radiation oncology.