METHODS: Doctors from multiple disciplines in a general hospital were invited to complete a 39-item self-reported questionnaire between November 2020 and December 2020. Each question was based on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree). 'Agree' and 'strongly agree' were considered correct or positive responses, except for nine questions worded in the opposite direction. Associations between variables were confirmed using Pearson's chi-squared and Fisher's exact tests.

RESULTS: Most respondents were house officers (206/321; 64.2%) with less than two years of service, followed by medical officers (68/321; 21.2%) and specialists (47/321; 14.6%). Only 7.2% of the respondents had received formal palliative care training before the study. Of the respondents, 73.5% were aware of the World Health Organization (WHO) analgaesic ladder, 60.7% were correct on oral morphine as the first line for moderate to severe cancer pain treatment and 91.9% knew the need to add rescue morphine for breakthrough pain. Additionally, 34.0% (P < 0.001) perceived morphine use caused addiction, 57.9% (n = 186) expressed fear of respiratory depression and 18.3% of medical officers and specialists perceived limited access and a maximum dose to prescribe. There was a significant difference in knowledge and perception between junior doctors and senior clinicians. The majority strongly agreed and agreed that there were inadequate training opportunities in cancer pain management.