• Ayumi Igarashi, Mitsunori Miyashita, Tatsuya Morita, Nobuya Akizuki, Miki Akiyama, Yutaka Shirahige, and Kenji Eguchi.
• 1Department of Gerontological Nursing, Graduate School of Health Care Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
• Am J Hosp Palliat Care. 2014 Mar 1; 31 (2): 155-60.

AbstractThis study aimed to clarify the general public's perceptions of opioids and palliative care units (PCUs) and explore factors related to such perceptions. A cross-sectional, anonymous questionnaire was administered to 8000 people. Although a majority agreed with positive perceptions of opioids and PCUs, some also agreed with negative perceptions, such as opioids are addictive and shorten life (28% and 27%, respectively). Multiregression analyses revealed that respondents with a better knowledge of PCUs had higher positive perceptions than those without such knowledge (P <.001). The higher positive perceptions were associated with a higher sense of security regarding regional cancer care (P < .001). Providing the general public with adequate knowledge about palliative care may improve perceptions of palliative care and the sense of security.

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