Unmet needs in palliative care for patients with common non-cancer diseases: a cross-sectional study

Background Non-cancer patients experience the chronic process of disease that increases the patients' suffering as well as families' care burden. Although two-thirds of deaths are caused by non-cancer diseases, there is a lack of studies on palliative care for non-cancer patients. This study identified the palliative care needs and satisfaction, anxiety and depression, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of non-cancer patients and identified the factors influencing their HRQOL. Methods A cross-sectional survey design was employed. Participants were 114 non-cancer patients with chronic heart failure, stroke, end-stage renal disease, or end-stage liver disease who were admitted to the general ward of a tertiary hospital in South Korea. Measures included the Palliative Care Needs and Satisfaction Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the Medical Outcome Study 36-items Short Form Health Survey version 2. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, analyses of variance, Pearson's correlations, and multiple linear regression analyses. Results The average score of palliative care needs was 3.66 +/- 0.62, which falls between 'moderate' and 'necessary'. Among the four domains, the average score of palliative care needs in the psychosocial domain was the highest: 3.83 +/- 0.67. Anxiety was nearly in the normal range (7.48 +/- 3.60; normal range = 0-7) but depression was higher than normal (9.17 +/- 3.71; normal range = 0-7). Similar to patients with cancer, physical HRQOL (38.89 +/- 8.69) and mental HRQOL (40.43 +/- 11.19) were about 80% of the general population's score (50 points). Duration of disease and physical performance were significant factors associated with physical HRQOL, whereas physical performance, anxiety, and depression were significant factors associated with mental HRQOL. Conclusion It is necessary to maintain non-cancer patients' physical performance and assess and manage their mental health in advance for effective palliative care. This study provides relevant information that can be used to develop a tailored palliative care model for non-cancer patients.