Nationwide Survey of Physician’s Attitudes Toward Palliative Care for Patients in the ICU in Japan

BackgroundPatients in intensive care units (ICU) frequently face severe distress and complex ethical dilemmas, underscoring the critical role of palliative care. Despite growing international attention on ICU-based palliative care, the attitude of palliative care specialists remains unclear. In Japan, although ICU physicians express willingness to collaborate, actual engagement with palliative care teams is limited. To support palliative care integration in the ICU, understanding specialists' perspectives on its provision to ICU patients is critical.ObjectivesWe examined the attitudes, confidence, motivation, and perceived barriers among Japanese palliative care specialists regarding their provision of care in the ICU.DesignWe conducted a nationwide cross-sectional survey.Setting/SubjectsConducted in Japan in June 2023, targeting 335 board-certified palliative care physicians.MeasurementsAttitudes, confidence, motivation, and perceived barriers were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire with five-point Likert scales. Descriptive statistics with 95% confidence intervals were generated.ResultsResponses from 218 physicians were received (65.0% valid response rate). Among these, although 65.5% agreed that palliative care is important even when curative goals are present,