Table 1 Response to the 18-items general knowledge questions about palliative care and its principles among pharmacists

1.Palliative care involves provision of care only to patients who have no curative treatment available (n = 108)

43 (39.8)

65 (60.2)^a

2. Non-medical practitioners are active participant in palliative care (n = 108)

63 (58.3)^a

45 (41.7)

3. Palliative care is to be provided by doctors and nurses alone (n = 109)

3 (2.8)

106 (97.2)^a

4. Palliative care is required only for patients who are near death (n = 108)

18 (16.7)

90 (83.3)^a

5. Palliative care only involves pain management (n = 108)

25 (23.1)

83 (76.9)^a

6. Palliative care involves providing patients with relief from their symptoms (n = 109)

66 (60.6)^a

43 (39.4)

7. Regular opioids intake should not be combined with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for palliative care patients (n = 99)

45 (45.5)

54 (54.5)^a

8. Long term use of opioids for palliative care patients does not often induce addiction (n = 107)

91 (85.0)^a

16 (15.0)

9. Palliative care should not be provided alongside anti-retroviral treatment (n = 99)

5 (5.1)

94 (94.9)^a

10. One of the goals of pain management in palliative care is to get good night sleep (n = 108)

14 (13.0)^a

94 (87.0)

11. Benzodiazepines should be effective for controlling delirium in palliative care patients (n = 93)

71 (76.3)^a

22 (23.7)

12. Palliative care does not involve maintaining patient medication profile overtime (n = 105)

8 (7.6)

97 (92.4)^a

13. Palliative care should not be provided in conjunction with curative care at the time of diagnosis of a potential life-limiting illness (n = 101)

14 (13.9)

87 (86.1)^a

14. The goals of palliative care and pharmaceutical care are consistent (n = 108)

101 (93.5)^a

7 (6.5)

15. Medication therapy is the cornerstone of all symptom control in palliative care (n = 104)

67 (64.4)

37 (35.6)*

16. Involvement in palliative care activities by pharmacists may decrease the need for medical emergencies (n = 103)

103 (100.0)^a

0 (0.0)

17. Pharmacist in palliative care should be less concerned about monitoring non-prescription medication use for safety and effectiveness (n = 107)

3 (2.8)

104 (97.2)^a

18. Pharmacists in palliative care communicate with pharmaceutical manufacturers to determine the availability of nonstandard dosage forms (n = 99)

61 (61.6)^a

38 (38.4)

Cut-off for overall percent score

n (%)

Remark

 > 75

23 (21.1)

Adequate

  ≤75

86 (78.9)

Inadequate