IEnd-of-life care (EOLC) is an increasingly important concern in management of terminally-ill patients. Effective EOLC depends significantly on the physicians working in the critical care units. Thus, adequate knowledge of critical care professionals regarding EOLC is important. We conducted this study to evaluate the awareness and knowledge of doctors working in critical care units towards EOLC

Methods: Doctors working in critical care units were invited to fill paper-based questionnaire. The validated questionnaire was constructed based on existing literature on EOLC and expert opinion. The questionnaire comprised of 4 sections: demographic details, experience with EOLC situations, general awareness of EOLC, and specific awareness of EOLC in clinical practice. The collected data was analysed by descriptive analysis.

Results: Most respondents had not counselled >5 families regarding EOLC over one month. Majority of the respondents (81.7%) had heard of EOLC; the major source of information being their work in the concerned speciality. Only 29.2% of the respondents applied EOLC principles in their clinical practice. Main barriers were lack of information and training. Only 20.3% of the respondents were aware of Indian guidelines about EOLC. Majority of respondents disagree regarding usage of critical care units and resuscitation of terminally ill patient and were in favour of home care. One-third respondents felt uncomfortable in discussing EOLC issues with the families. Half of the respondents felt that they were only somewhat competent in managing EOLC issues. Most respondents opined that training and education in medical curriculum for terminally ill patients is lacking and was in strong favour of inclusion of specific training for the same.

Conclusion: Palliative care needs to be an integral part of critical care management and teaching curriculum. An integral referral system may also be an option for various advance diseases patients getting treatment from critical care specialist for decision for EOLC.