Palliative care needs and barriers in an urban Ugandan Emergency Department: A mixed-methods survey of emergency healthcare workers and patients.

Background: Palliative Care offers patient-centered, symptom-focused relief for patients with incurable disease, and early integration of palliative care ensures quality of life and death while reducing medical impoverishment. The Emergency Department is an ideal yet understudied, under-utilized location to initiate palliative care.

Objective: To evaluate the palliative care needs of patients with incurable disease and perceived barriers amongst healthcare providers in the Emergency Department of Kiruddu National Referral Hospital, Kampala, Uganda.