Knowledge in Pain and Palliative Care in Medical Students From 2 Universities in Mozambique: A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract Background: Palliative Care (PC) needs have been increasing in low- and middle-income countries. The education of its contents avoids the patients and families´ suffering and therapeutic futility. Aim: to assess the pain and palliative care´s knowledge in Mozambican medical students of the fifth and sixth years. Methods: A cross–sectional study was conducted between August 2018 and July 2019. Data was collected by applying a self-administered survey directed to students from 2 medical schools in Mozambique. Comparison of answer’s frequencies between hospitals was performed using chi-square and Fisher’s exact test. Results: From the 146 participants, 52.7% were female and the median age was 24 years old. Regarding general knowledge: 90.1% think they need to improve their knowledge on pain management, 50.3% of the participants did not know the palliative care World Health Organization´s (WHO) definition. Concerning to therapeutic approach, 36.4% did not have knowledge in control of symptoms, 43.7% did not know the WHO pain management scale, 65.3% did not know how to initiate analgesia for cancer pain. There are significant differences between universities in training related to medical posture on communication to bad news to patients and family as well as training in terminally ill patients. Conclusion: Results show that students from these 2 medical schools have gaps in pain and palliative care knowledge. There is a need to introduce palliative care education in medical training in Mozambique.