Palliative and supportive care in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: a qualitative study on attitudes and perceptions of health professionals
Health professionals' perceptions of integration of palliative and supportive care in liver cancer care are hampered by multiple barriers. Opportunities to establish a more cohesive approach to care integration for patients with liver cancer have been identified. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ACTRN12623000010695 (date of registration 9/01/2023). What is already known about the topic? • Integration of palliative and supportive care for cancer can have profound benefits for patients' symptom burden and quality of life. • There is a lack of empirical studies examining the perspectives of health professionals who manage liver cancer on the integration of palliative and supportive care into the treatment pathways for patients. What this paper adds • This study identifies a number of barriers to the implementation of palliative and supportive care into liver cancer treatment algorithms. • The absence of sufficient evidence in clinical guidelines impairs the capacity of health professionals to improve the integration of palliative and supportive care for liver cancer patients. Implications for practice, theory, or policy. • As liver cancer prevalence increases, further effort is required to develop appropriate evidence-based clinical guidelines and referral pathways to support the integration of palliative and supportive care within existing liver cancer services.
Authors
- Shenghan Cai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4277-3365)
- Yvonne Zurynski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7744-8717)
- Sally Greenaway
- Rose Boutros (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9025-2057)
- Kim A. Caldwell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1580-6122)
- Thang Huynh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4292-8718)
- Linda Sheahan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4718-9659)
- Amany Zekry (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5675-1810)
- Caitlin Sheehan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5100-0746)
- Meera Agar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6756-6119)
- Anna Di Bartolomeo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3664-3839)
- Geoffrey W. McCaughan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1483-1636)
- Jan Maree Davis
- Scott A. Davison (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5872-2044)
- Miriam Levy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9329-8018)
- Stephen Goodall (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6611-6565)
- Simone Irene Strasser (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6374-1525)
- Cameron Gofton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0913-7180)
- Shalini Wijekulasuriya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5269-955X)
- Fiona Stafford‐Bell
- Ken Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0453-3168)
- Jacob George (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3716-7683)
- Zujaj Quadri
Institutions
- University of Technology Sydney (AU)
- Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (AU)
- Liverpool Hospital (AU)
- Westmead Hospital (AU)
- St George Hospital (AU)
- Westmead Institute (AU)
- Westmead Institute for Medical Research (AU)
- South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (AU)
- South Western Sydney Local Health District (AU)
- Macquarie University (AU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Supportive Care in Cancer
- Published
- 2025-04-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-025-09403-y
- Primary Topic
- Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Cancer Institute NSW
- University of Sydney
- New South Wales Government