2026 Volume 21 Issue 3 Pages 215-221
Objective: Clarify care managers’ difficulties with palliative care for cancer patients. Methods: A web-based questionnaire was administered to care managers working in Nara Prefecture. Results: Responses were obtained from 210 participants. Sixty-three percent strongly agreed or agreed with the item, “It is difficult to communicate with patients after they receive bad news.” Fifty-nine percent strongly agreed with the item, “We need to learn more about palliative care.” Working in urban areas (odds ratio [OR] 2.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1–3.6) perceiving an increase in palliative patients (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.5–5.1), and experiencing difficulty communicating with patients/families (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.2–2.3) were significantly associated with the need to learn about palliative care. Conclusion: The results suggest that many care managers have difficulty with palliative care. Support strategies for care managers are required.
