Awareness, attitudes, and beliefs about palliative care: Results from a representative survey of the Italian-speaking Swiss population.

Objective: To understand the knowledge and awareness of palliative care in the Italian-speaking Swiss general population, describing main misconceptions or false beliefs and their relationship with attitudes towards palliative care.

Methods: Cross-sectional representative population survey (N = 313).

Results: We observed a high awareness of «palliative care,» although it is mainly associated with pain management and the very last days of life.