Experiences, knowledge, and opinions on palliative care among Romanian general practitioners.

AIM To assess experience, knowledge, and opinions of Romanian general practitioners (GPs) on palliative health care in Romania. METHODS A questionnaire survey was performed among 1283 GPs in five districts of Romania in 2004. The data were collected on the GPs' self-assessed experience in, knowledge of, and opinion on palliative care, entered into a database, and analyzed. Th e GPs were also asked to indicate if they needed to improve their knowledge about palliative care. RESULTS Th e response rate was 71%. GPs mostly reported having limited experience in providing palliative care, with 24% reporting to have provided palliative care frequently, and 55% reporting to have it provided sometimes. Significant or relations were found between the GPs' experience in palliative care provision and their age, sex, and place of work. Th e majority of Romanian GPs reported that their medical knowledge was inadequate for the provision of care to terminal patients at home. Over 80% of GPs agreed to develop palliative care services and to participate in a training program. CONCLUSION GPs in Romania reported to recognize the need for improvement of palliative care delivery in their country. They expressed a need for better knowledge of palliative care and agreed that multidisciplinary teams to provide palliative care at home would be the best form of delivering this type of health care.