Beneficiary’s Satisfaction with Primary Palliative Care Services in Kerala – A Cross-Sectional Survey

This study assessed how satisfied patients in Kerala, India are with the primary palliative care (PC) services they receive at home. Kerala was the first state in India to implement a community-based PC program. The researchers surveyed 450 patients to understand their satisfaction levels and what factors might influence their satisfaction with the home care services. The study found that most patients were generally satisfied, but also identified areas where the program could be improved, such as including doctor visits and medicine delivery at home.

• 1
  The overall satisfaction with the Kerala State Primary PC Programme was found to be high at about 69%.
• 2
  There was a statistically significant association between beneficiary satisfaction and the behavior of PC nurses, particularly their friendliness, communication skills, and the time they spent with patients.
• 3
  The study identified that patients highly valued the inclusion of doctor visits in home care (71.8%), medicine distribution at home (67.4%), and physical rehabilitation services at home (52.3%).