What does the public think about hospice and palliative care? Key findings from ComRes survey
Published on: 10 October 2017
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In August 2017 Hospice UK commissioned leading pollster ComRes to undertake a survey looking at public perceptions of hospice care.
ComRes interviewed 2,120 UK adults online, between 7th and 8th August and asked respondents a total of 21 questions.
Data were weighted by age, gender, region and socio-economic grade to be representative of all UK adults aged 18+.
The findings of the research will be published in two stages – these general perceptions of hospices and separately health-focused findings from the survey – due in November 2017.
Overall perceptions of hospices are broadly positive, with nine in ten people agreeing that they are an important asset to the community (92%).
However, the level of understanding around what hospice care entails appears relatively mixed. Approaching half of UK adults say that they are familiar with what it involves (46%), but a third say the opposite (36%). Despite this, the majority of the public are able to correctly answer factual questions about hospices.
One of the starkest knowledge gaps appears to be around funding and access. Half (50%) of UK adults wrongly say that you can only be referred to a hospice, for instance and just three in five (57%) UK adults are aware hospice services are generally free for those receiving them.
Across the board there are a number of clear demographic patterns which could indicate groups within the population that may engage better with future campaign work:
Women are more likely than men to report any interaction with hospice care in the past year (59% vs. 45%) and tend to have a better understanding of how hospice care works (women on average, got 2.8 questions relating to hospice care correct, compared to 2.69 for men), both of which likely link back to broader positive perceptions of hospices. They are also more willing than men to get involved in the hospital movement, such as through volunteering (44% vs. 30%).
Older ages are more likely than their younger counterparts to have had some form of interaction or experience with hospice care, with 45% of 55+ year olds having received or known someone who has received some form of hospice care, compared to only 36% of 18-34 year olds. Furthermore, like women, they tend to have a better understanding of its services, with those aged 55+, on average, answering 2.89 questions relating to hospice care correctly, compared to 2.62 for those aged 18-34.
They also have a weaker knowledge about hospices; one in ten 18-24 year olds (10%) got none of the facts about hospices correct). Despite all of this, they are more willing than their older counterparts to get involved in supporting hospices, for example through volunteering for a hospice, as 45% of 18-34 year olds would be willing to consider doing so, compared to 29% of those aged 55+
UK adults claim to be slightly more familiar with what hospice care involves than unfamiliar; approaching half (46%) say they are familiar (36%) say the opposite.
While levels of familiarity are broadly consistent across gender, women are significantly more likely than men to say that they are very familiar with what hospice care involves (19% vs. 16%). In contrast, a fifth (21%) of men say they are very unfamiliar with what hospice care involves compared to one in seven (15%) women.
Familiarity increases with age; UK adults aged 55 or older are more likely to be very familiar with what hospice care involves than those aged 18-34 (20% vs. 15% respectively).
