The American journal of hospice & palliative care
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Am J Hosp Palliat Care · Jun 2019
Korean Physicians' Perspectives on Prognostication in Palliative Care: A Qualitative Study.
Prognostication is an essential component of palliative care for patients with advanced cancer but also poses challenges. Little is known about physicians' perspectives on prognostication and prognostic tools used in palliative care practice in Eastern countries. ⋯ Palliative care physicians in Korea reported similar perceptions about the role and challenges inherent in prognostication compared to clinicians in Western cultures. However, they emphasize the need to predict final days to keep families with dying patients, reflecting family-centered aspects of Asian culture. They reported frustrations with inaccurate prognostication schemas and called for the development of simpler, more accurate predictors as a focus of future research.