Public Awareness and Understanding of PC in the UAE

Burjeel Medical City824 enrolled

Overview

Palliative care (PC) is essential medical care for improving the quality of life for patients with life-threatening illnesses and their families. There has been substantial evolution of PC services in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), yet public awareness regarding PC remains shallow, hindering its utilization and acceptance on a large scale.

This study aimed to evaluate public perceptions and awareness of PC in the UAE. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in both Arabic and English. This study emphasizes the need of addressing these gaps to integrate PC effectively into the UAE healthcare system, ensuring equitable access and improved quality of life for patients and their families.

Study Type

OBSERVATIONAL

Enrollment

824

Conditions

Palliative Care

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 14 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * UAE residents * Provided informed consent to participate * Completed the survey in either Arabic or English Exclusion Criteria: * Non-UAE residents * Incomplete survey responses (if applicable)

Locations (1)

Burjeel Cancer Institute

Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Familiarity and Understanding of Palliative and Supportive Care as Measured by a Structured Survey

The study assessed participants' awareness, familiarity, and understanding of palliative and supportive care through a structured questionnaire. The survey includes Likert-scale and multiple-choice questions designed to evaluate: * Self-reported familiarity with palliative and supportive care concepts * Knowledge of available palliative care services * Perceived importance of palliative care in the healthcare system * Disparities in responses between Arabic-speaking and English-speaking groups. Responses were analyzed quantitatively by calculating the proportion of participants at different familiarity levels i.e., Very familiar, somewhat familiar, Neutral/not sure, not very familiar, not familiar at all and comparing trends across language groups. Percentages were calculated and categorical responses were summarized using frequency distributions.

Time frame: Surveys were conducted in Arabic from July 25, 2024, to August 18, 2024, and in English from August 5, 2024, to August 18, 2024.

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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