Key result
An integrative review of 10 articles identified that healthcare providers' lack of basic knowledge, inadequate education, and inexperience in palliative care act as major communication barriers.
Why the study?
Guidelines recommend discussing palliative care options in heart failure, but healthcare providers' perceived communication barriers to offering this information needed evaluation.
A lack of knowledge and education among healthcare providers serves as a major barrier to delivering palliative care to patients with heart failure.
Highlights provider-perceived barriers to palliative HF discussions; leaves open targeted strategies to improve guideline-aligned communication.
CONTEXT: Heart failure is a chronic complex syndrome that is common and burdensome. International clinical practice guidelines recommend that healthcare providers communicate palliative care options with patients with heart failure. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to conduct an integrative review to evaluate how healthcare providers perceived communication barriers to offering information to individuals in the palliative phase of heart failure. METHODS: Four databases and the gray literature were searched from January 1987 to February 2017. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Studies were graded for strength and quality using a critical appraisal tool, and key themes were extracted and synthesized. RESULTS: Ten articles met the full inclusion criteria. Most studies were qualitative or nonexperimental studies of good quality. Authors of several studies found that healthcare providers lacked basic knowledge about palliative care or did not possess sufficient knowledge to effectively provide care. Poor knowledge of palliative care created a barrier between the provider and the patient. Inadequate education or inexperience in palliative care led to the resistance of health providers to implementing a palliative approach. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this review emphasize a lack of knowledge as a barrier to delivering palliative care. Healthcare providers caring for individuals with heart failure need palliative care knowledge, skills, and competencies to ensure that this vulnerable population receives holistic patient-centered care.
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Schallmo et al. (2018) conducted a review in Heart failure (n=10). Communication barriers to offering palliative care was evaluated on Perceived communication barriers. An integrative review of 10 articles identified that healthcare providers' lack of basic knowledge, inadequate education, and inexperience in palliative care act as major communication barriers.
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