{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,2]],"date-time":"2026-10-02T07:54:04Z","timestamp":1790927644974,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]],"date-time":"2026-08-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786406400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":10,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785542400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Health Science Reports"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background and Aims<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Palliative care is an active, holistic approach to care that aims to improve the quality of life of patients with life\u2010limiting illnesses and their families by alleviating suffering across physical, psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions. Despite its recognized importance, access to palliative care remains inequitable globally, particularly in low\u2010 and middle\u2010income countries. In Bhutan, palliative care is a relatively new concept, first introduced in 2018, with ongoing plans to expand services across all 20 districts by 2027. Medical doctors play a pivotal role in the successful implementation and sustainability of palliative care services nationwide. However, their knowledge of palliative care remains largely unassessed. This study, therefore, aimed to assess the level of palliative care knowledge among medical doctors working across Bhutan.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross\u2010sectional study was conducted across all 20 districts of Bhutan. All Bhutanese medical doctors registered with the Bhutan Medical and Health Council were invited to participate. A validated self\u2010administered questionnaire adapted from the Palliative Care Knowledge Questionnaire\u2010Basic (PCKQ\u2010B) was distributed electronically. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics (version 23; IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Knowledge scores above the median were classified as good knowledge.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A total of 157 medical doctors participated in the study. The median knowledge score was 14 (IQR: 12.5\u201316.0), and 63.1% of participants demonstrated good knowledge of palliative care. The majority were male (61.1%), and more than half were working as consultants (51.6%). On multivariable logistic regression, age between 31 and 40 years (aOR: 5.7, 95% CI: 1.3\u201325.6;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.024) and inclusion of palliative care in the educational curriculum (aOR: 4.3, 95% CI: 1.5\u201312.3;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.006) were independently associated with good knowledge.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Medical doctors in Bhutan demonstrated a reasonably good level of palliative care knowledge. Incorporating palliative care into medical curricula and providing targeted training may further strengthen knowledge and support the sustainable expansion of palliative care services nationwide.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1002\/hsr2.73046","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T05:18:53Z","timestamp":1786511933000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Assessment of Palliative Care Knowledge Among Bhutanese Doctors in Bhutan: A Cross\u2010Sectional Study"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3594-3159","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Namkha","family":"Dorji","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital Thimphu Bhutan"},{"name":"Faculty of Postgraduate Medicine Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan Thimphu Bhutan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7324-3028","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yeshey","family":"Dorjey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Postgraduate Medicine Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan Thimphu Bhutan"},{"name":"Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Eastern Regional Referral Hospital Mongar Bhutan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-2853-2430","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yangdon","family":"Yangdon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Public Health Ministry of Health, National Cancer Control Program Thimphu Bhutan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_12_2_1","unstructured":"International Association for Hospice & Palliative Care \u201cPalliative Care Definition [Internet] \u201dhttps:\/\/hospicecare.com\/what-we-do\/projects\/consensus-based-definition-of-palliative-care\/definition\/."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/J.JPAINSYMMAN.2025.07.018"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/J.JPAINSYMMAN.2025.07.026"},{"issue":"1","key":"e_1_2_12_5_1","first-page":"1","article-title":"Systematic Review on Coping Strategies Used by Palliative Care Patients in South Asia","volume":"16","author":"Ali H.","year":"2026","journal-title":"South East Asia Journal of Public Health [Internet]"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/S13104-015-1102-3"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(17)32513-8"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_8_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization \u201cWhy Palliative Care Is an Essential Function of Primary Health Care \u201d published 2018 https:\/\/www.who.int\/docs\/default-source\/primary-health-care-conference\/palliative.pdf."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-017-4989-x"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_10_1","unstructured":"Ministry of Health \u201cBhutan Cancer Control Strategy 2019\u20132025 \u201d 2019."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_11_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.25259\/IJPC"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_12_1","first-page":"1","volume-title":"The Health Sector's 13th Five Year Plan","author":"Healthy Drukyul Program","year":"2024"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_13_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pgph.0000775"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_14_1","unstructured":"T.Dorjee K. D.Zangmo andJ.Choden \u201cVital Statistics Report \u201d 2023."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_15_1","unstructured":"World Health Organization \u201cdata.who.int Bhutan [country overview] [Internet] \u201d accessed May 17 2024 https:\/\/data.who.int\/countries\/064."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_16_1","unstructured":"Bhutan RG of \u201cThe Constitution of The Kingdom of Bhutan \u201d 2008 75 p."},{"key":"e_1_2_12_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.11622\/smedj.2016049"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.25259\/IJPC_80_2021"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1179\/1743291X14Y.0000000090"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_20_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4103\/0973-1075.125547"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_21_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0825859720946514"},{"key":"e_1_2_12_22_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.47811\/bhj.155"}],"container-title":["Health Science Reports"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/hsr2.73046","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1002\/hsr2.73046","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/hsr2.73046","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,2]],"date-time":"2026-10-02T07:13:12Z","timestamp":1790925192000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/hsr2.73046"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]},"references-count":21,"journal-issue":{"issue":"8","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1002\/hsr2.73046"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/hsr2.73046","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["2398-8835","2398-8835"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2398-8835","type":"print"},{"value":"2398-8835","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2026-03-04","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-08-06","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-08-11","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e73046"}}