Public understanding of palliative care still lacking, survey shows

Many believe it is exclusively for the dying and restricted to the last six months of life

- Shermaine Ang

While the vast majority of Singaporeans correctly identify palliative care as relieving the suffering of people with a serious illness, a recent survey found that many still mistake it as primarily care of the dying.

Fewer than half of those surveyed understood the full scope of palliative care, which is to improve the quality of life and provide relief to anyone suffering a serious illness that is not necessarily terminal.

The Pulse on Palliative Care commissioned by family foundation Lien Foundation and carried out in July included a quiz to test public knowledge of palliative care.

While over 80 per cent of respondents correctly identified the aim of palliative care as to maximise quality of life, and to help whole families cope with serious illness, fewer than half had a full understanding of its scope. Some 62 per cent had the misconception that palliative care is restricted to the last six months of life, and 56 per cent believed that it is exclusively for the dying. Additionally, 48 per cent had the misconception that choosing palliative care would mean giving up on other medical treatment.

Data and analytics firm Kantar conducted the online survey on a nationally representative sample of 1,000 Singapore residents. The findings were shared on Oct 9 at a media event held at Lien Foundation's office, where doctors also engaged in a panel discussion on palliative care.

Singapore is ramping up national palliative care capacity, with the number of palliative medicine physicians almost doubling from 47 in 2014 to 88 in 2024.