Table 3 Possible factors of different practices of palliative care during COVID-19 pandemic
Results (N = 313) | |
|---|---|
Factors of different practice*, n (%)a | |
Health system congestion | 107 (69.9) |
Personal factors | 101 (66.0) |
Primary nature of COVID-19 disease | 90 (58.8) |
Organisational and process factors | 75 (49.0) |
Technical equipment | 69 (45.1) |
Different ethical principles | 44 (28.8) |
Communication within the team | 27 (17.6) |
Process of EOLD discussions | 22 (14.4) |
Emotions | 19 (12.4) |
Communication with the management | 18 (11.8) |
Therapy goals were always clearly explained and defined, n (%) | |
Strongly agree | 60 (19.2) |
Somewhat agree | 168 (53.7) |
Do not know | 35 (11.2) |
Somewhat disagree | 35 (11.2) |
Strongly disagree | 7 (2.2) |
Most COVID-19 patients were dying with dignity, n (%) | |
Strongly agree | 69 (22.0) |
Somewhat agree | 124 (39.6) |
Do not know | 35 (11.2) |
Somewhat disagree | 61 (19.5) |
Strongly disagree | 14 (4.5) |
Factors which contributed to absence of dignity*, n (%)b | |
System problems | 52 (22.2) |
Inconsistent opinions of physicians on comfort care | 40 (17.1) |
Principles of comfort care were not fully understood | 29 (12.4) |
Insufficient control of patient’s symptoms | 21 (9.0) |
Insufficient communication within the team | 18 (7.7) |
Inconsistent opinions of nurses on comfort care | 18 (7.7) |
Resource scarcity situation | 7 (3.0) |
Doubts about EOLD process experience, n (%) | |
No, process was respecting medical and ethical principles | 214 (68.4) |
Yes, I did not consider process adequate | 52 (16.6) |
Yes, professional medical reasons | 25 (8.0) |
Yes, moral reasons | 5 (1.6) |
Resource scarcity situation used as supporting argument in EOLD, n (%) | |
No | 154 (49.2) |
Yes, but I understood importance of the argument | 108 (34.5) |
Yes, but I was not comfortable with the argument | 36 (11.5) |