Abstract Details

Title Palliative care and Parkinson’s disease: current practice, knowledge and barriers to referral. Insights from French palliative care units.

Topic Pain

Presentation(s) P12 - Poster Session 12 (12:00 PM-1:00 PM)

Poster/Presentation
Number 6-005

Objective To assess the current practice regarding patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in palliative care units and to identify barriers to patients’ referral and optimal care.

Background Palliative care is now receiving a growing interest in PD. However, knowledge on the overall patterns of the end-of-life of PD patients and on the current practice in palliative care units is scarce. Understanding the barriers surrounding palliative care in PD among medical professionals is critical to identify levers for action and improve patients’ access to palliative care.

Design/Methods A survey was conducted among the 13 palliative care units of Brittany during the autumn of 2019. The aim was to meet in person with medical staff (physicians and nurses) to better describe local practice, using qualitative questionnaires (e.g. knowledge about the specificities of PD patients and PD medications, frequency of PD patients’ referral, pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies).

Results 9 out of 13 palliative care units positively responded to our request. The relevance of palliative care in PD patients was acknowledged by most of the professionals, despite the low frequency of such hospitalizations in their units. PD patients were indeed referred to palliative care units for reasons other than PD, such as cancer. Many professionals reported a lack of knowledge in managing PD patients, the main concerns being pain management, rigidity, psychiatric disorders and medication adjustments. Training sessions on the specificities and needs of PD patients were requested to improve the quality of end-of-life care.

Conclusions Currently, PD patients’ needs are not always identified and/or satisfied in palliative care units (pain & medication management). There is a need to provide additional training on PD to palliative care units, and to develop standardized core documentation. Early introduction of palliative care options to physicians (neurologists, general practitioners, geriatricians) and patients would be relevant to optimize coordination, increase awareness and facilitate communication.

Authors/Disclosures
Manon Auffret, PhD, PharmD, D�鶹��ýӳ�� PRESENTER	Dr. Auffret has received personal compensation for serving as an employee of France Développement Electronique. Dr. Auffret has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving as a Consultant for Aguettant. The institution of Dr. Auffret has received personal compensation in the range of $500-$4,999 for serving on a Scientific Advisory or Data Safety Monitoring board for Aguettant. The institution of Dr. Auffret has received research support from Oxylis Medical. Dr. Auffret has received publishing royalties from a publication relating to health care. Dr. Auffret has received publishing royalties from a publication relating to health care. Dr. Auffret has received publishing royalties from a publication relating to health care. Dr. Auffret has received publishing royalties from a publication relating to health care.
	No disclosure on file
Guillaume Robert	No disclosure on file
	No disclosure on file
Marc Verin (CHU Hopital Pontchaillou)	Mr. Verin has nothing to disclose.

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