Table 1.
Clinical Characteristics and Attitudes and Beliefs Regarding SPC
| Variable | Total, No. (%) | Decreased Awareness, No. (%)* | Increased Awareness, No. (%)† | P‡ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trainees overall | 122 (100) | 21 (17) | 101 (83) | |
| Specialty | ||||
| GYN ONC | 6 (5) | 0 (0) | 6 (100) | < .001 |
| MED ONC | 60 (49) | 7 (12) | 53 (88) | |
| RAD ONC | 20 (16.4) | 0 (0) | 20 (100) | |
| SURG ONC | 36 (29.5) | 14 (39) | 22 (61) | |
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 54 (44) | 5 (9) | 49 (91) | .052 |
| Male | 68 (56) | 16 (23) | 52 (76) | |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||
| Asian | 47 (38.5) | 7 (15) | 40 (85) | .902 |
| White | 58 (47.5) | 12 (21) | 46 (79) | |
| Other | 17 (14) | 2 (12) | 15 (88) | |
| Years of postmedical school training | ||||
| ≤ 6 | 51 (42) | 3 (6) | 48 (94) | .006 |
| > 6 | 71 (58) | 18 (25) | 26 (37) | |
| Time at MDACC | ||||
| ≥ 1 year | 74 (61) | 7 (9.5) | 67 (90.5) | .004 |
| Between 6 months and 1 year | 48 (39) | 14 (29) | 34 (71) | |
| Previous training in PC | ||||
| Yes | 48 (39) | 2 (4) | 46 (96) | .002 |
| No | 74 (61) | 19 (26) | 55 (74) | |
| No. of patients who died in the past 1 year | ||||
| ≤ 20 | 72 (59) | 17 (24) | 55 (76) | .028 |
| > 20 | 50 (41) | 4 (8) | 46 (92) | |
| No. of patients with advanced cancer seen in the past 1 year | ||||
| 0-7 | 45 (37) | 13 (29) | 32 (71) | .009 |
| ≥ 8 | 77 (63) | 8 (10) | 69 (90) | |
| No. of times SPC consultation requested in the past 1 year | ||||
| ≤ 20 | 88 (72) | 20 (23) | 68 (77) | .007 |
| > 20 | 34 (30) | 1 (3) | 33 (97) | |
| Type of SPC consultation | ||||
| I have not consulted SPC | 10 (8) | 7 (70) | 3 (30) | < .001 |
| Inpatient | 38 (31) | 7 (18) | 31 (82) | |
| More than one service or setting | 56 (46) | 5 (9) | 51 (91) | |
| Outpatient | 17 (14) | 1 (6) | 16 (94) | |
| Frequency of referral | ||||
| None of the time | 9 (7) | 6 (67) | 3 (33) | < .001 |
| A little of the time | 13 (11) | 7 (54) | 6 (46) | |
| Some of the time | 49 (40) | 7 (14) | 42 (86) | |
| Most of the time | 44 (36) | 0 (0) | 44 (100) | |
| All of the time | 7 (6) | 1 (14) | 6 (86) | |
| Consult SPC with uncontrolled symptoms and no active cancer | ||||
| Agree | 66 (54.1) | 5 (7.6) | 61 (92) | .003 |
| SPC is beneficial to patients and families | ||||
| Agree | 112 (92) | 17 (15) | 95 (85) | .068 |
| Mandatory rotation in PC is important | ||||
| Agree | 82 (67) | 10 (12.2) | 72 (88) | .035 |
| Preference for term SC v PC | ||||
| I prefer neither of the terms | 6 (5) | 3 (50) | 3 (50) | .003 |
| Prefer SC over PC | 100 (82) | 12 (12) | 88 (88) | |
| Undecided | 16 (13) | 6 (37.5) | 10 (63) |
Abbreviations: GYN ONC, gynecologic oncology; MDACC, MD Anderson Cancer Center; MED ONC, medical oncology; PC, palliative care; RAD ONC, radiation oncology; SC, supportive care; SPC, supportive and palliative care; SURG ONC, surgical oncology.
*
Fewer than six of eight questions correct.
†
Six to eight of eight questions correct.
‡
Associations between trainees with decreased versus increased awareness were measured with χ2 and Fisher’s exact tests.