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Palliative Care by Family Physicians: An Assessment of Service Provisions and Challenges

Michael Smith

Palliative care has been on a continuous global growth trajectory, with efforts to standardize it in both local and international academic settings. In Thailand, despite progress, there remains a need for further development and integration of palliative care. The country's health system has transitioned from isolated palliative care provision to a preliminary integration phase, resulting in heterogeneity among health jurisdictions in terms of both coverage and quality. Family physicians, who are an essential component of Thailand's healthcare system, play a pivotal role in providing palliative care services. However, there is a lack of information on the extent of palliative care services offered by family physicians, their confidence levels, and the challenges they face in delivering palliative care. This survey seeks to address these knowledge gaps by assessing the proportion of Thai family physicians engaged in palliative care, identifying discrepancies between services provided and expected competencies, and pinpointing the challenges faced by family physicians in delivering palliative care. The findings from this study will provide insights for revising palliative care training and conducting needs assessments, ultimately enhancing palliative care services in Thailand.