Assessing Palliative Care Needs in Two Rural Communities in Thailand Through a Household Survey

Background: Community-based palliative care (CBPC) promotes public health and ensures universal access to palliative care. However, identifying patients in need of palliative care within communities remains a challenge. Objective: To determine the prevalence of the need for palliative care in two rural communities in Thailand based on age and disease status through a household survey. Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional study, using purposive sampling, and collaborative effort among the sub-district health promoting hospitals (SDHPHs) of Mae Pa, Tak Province and Mueang Phon, Khon Kaen Province in Thailand. The survey covered eight villages in Mae Pa, which include 2,298 households and eleven villages in Mueang Phon, which include 1,340 households. Trained village health volunteers (VHVs) were given a structured questionnaire to conduct the survey by visiting households. The instrument’s validity was confirmed by five experts, with a percentage agreement of 75% to 79.2%. The Fleiss’ kappa coefficient was 0.72, with a range of 0.71 to 0.72, with a significant a p-value of less than 0.001. Data was analyzed based on the period prevalence. Results: In Mae Pa, the palliative care need prevalence was 2.03 per 1,000, among them, 84.62% had non-cancer conditions and 38.46% had neurodegenerative diseases with frailty and dementia. The prevalence was highest, at 93.21%, among the older adults. In Mueang Phon, the prevalence was 2.33 per 1,000, with 54.55% having neurodegenerative diseases with frailty and dementia, and 81.82% having non-cancer conditions. The prevalence was 100% among the older adults. Conclusion: The results showed that, palliative care need prevalence is highest among individuals with non-cancer conditions and those aged older than 60 years. These findings could help guide the development and provision of palliative care at the community level.