Usefulness of a palliative care education program based on the Cancer Control Act of Japan：a qualitative study

ABSTRACT

<b>Background：</b>A palliative care education program based on the Cancer Control Act, namely the Palliative care Emphasis Program on symptom management and Assessment for Continuous medical Education（PEACE）, has been run in Japan since 2008.<b> Purpose：</b>The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of PEACE for clinicalpractice. <b>Method：</b>Focus group interviews were conducted with 12 physicians who attended the program and were chosen by theoretical sampling. Two investigators independently performed thematic content analysis. <b>Results：</b>Qualitative analysis identified five main categories of usefulness of the program：（1）acquiring knowledge of palliative care；（2）acquiring skills to provide palliative care；（3）mastering an attitude of focusing on suffering；（4）acquiring knowledge about home palliative care；and（5）standardizing knowledge of basic palliative care in the community. Three main categories for program improvement were identified, namely the content and structure of the program, as well as the method of running the program. <b>Conclusion：</b>PEACE may be useful in providing systematic education in basic palliative care through the acquisition of basic knowledge and skills, discussion of cases with colleagues, observing good communication by other physicians, and networking in the community.