Table 1 Demographic characteristics of survey respondents (n = 150)

 Nurse

59 (39.3)

 Other (e.g., leadership positions, hospice employees, administrative roles, volunteers with professional background other than listed)

36 (24)

 No professional background

11 (7.3)

 Social Worker

9 (6)

 Physician

8(5.3)

 Nurse Practitioner

4 (2.7)

 Occupational Therapist

2(1.3)

 Pharmacist

0 (0)

 Missing

21(14)

Primary role in palliative care

 Specialized palliative care provider (adult population)

58 (40.6)

 Volunteer

26 (18.2)

 Other (e.g., educators, executive directors, volunteer coordinators, spiritual care)

24 (16.8)

 Non-specialized palliative care provider (e.g., community health nurse, family physician)

16 (11.2)

 System level decision-maker/leader for palliative care or palliative approach to care

14 (9.8)

 Researcher

5 (3.5)

 Specialized palliative care provider (pediatric population)

0 (0)

 Missing

7 (4.7)

Do you have education in specialized palliative care or in a palliative approach to care?

 Yes

99 (66)

 No

23 (15.3)

 Unsure

8 (5.3)

 Missing

20 (13.3)

# years working/volunteering in palliative care

 1–4

25 (16.7)

 5–9

29 (19.3)

 10–14

27 (18)

 15–19

13 (8.7)

 > 20

33 (22)

 Missing

23 (15.3)

Province/ Territory work in

 British Columbia

33 (22)

 Alberta

14 (9.3)

 Saskatchewan

7 (4.7)

 Manitoba

4 (2.7)

 Ontario

37 (24.7)

 Quebec

3 (2)

 Prince Edward Island

6 (4)

 Nova Scotia

9 (6)

 New Brunswick

10 (6.7)

 Newfoundland/Labrador

4 (2.7)

 Northwest Territories

1 (0.7)

 Nunavut

0 (0)

 Work in more than one province

3 (2)

 Yukon

0 (0)

 Missing

19 (12.7)

Geographic area (one or more answers possible)

 Urban (> 100,000)

63 (37)

 Small urban (10,000 to 99,000 population)

50 (30)

 Rural (< 10,000 population)

 Remote

33 (19)

2 (1)

 Missing

21(12)