Perspectives and attitudes toward the integration of oncology and palliative care in Japan: Qualitative analysis of a nationwide survey.

96Background: The integration of oncology and palliative care (IOP) is an emerging issue that has been encouraged by several agencies, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Despite such efforts, clinical implementation of IOP is evolving slowly. One key barrier to implementation is the lack of institutional support; however, recognition of IOP by the heads of hospitals has rarely been investigated. Methods: This was a secondary qualitative analysis of a nationwide survey, which was performed in November 2017 to clarify the current status of IOP in Japan. The questionnaires were distributed to all designated cancer hospitals (DCHs) (n = 399) and randomly sampled non-DCHs (n = 478). This survey included a free text query asking executives or directors of oncology departments at cancer hospitals to describe their opinions about encouragement of IOP in Japan (i.e., importance or challenges of IOP). In total, 174 hospitals (20.2%) responded to the free text query (106 DCHs and 68 non-DCHs). Cont...