Qualitative analysis of palliative care and support in medical practices in DRC

This work aims at documenting the representations that health professionals in Kinshasa have of palliative care and end-of-life support. This qualitative study was conducted among 30 doctors and 90 nurses with at least one year of experience in six hospitals in Kinshasa that receive patients at the end of life. The results show that health professionals believe that this care is time-consuming and that the inability to say some things to patients and families generates misunderstandings and concerns likely to prevent the application of palliative care. For them, it is often a futile therapeutic obstinacy, added hygienic care, and neglect of the patient. The obstacles to implementing this care might be linked to the lack of training about this approach and a health system based essentially on curative approaches. The representation of health professionals about palliative care and support are many and varied. They are, however, more structured among physicians than nurses.