Nursing students, who have been receiving the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) Core training throughout their Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, have a unique perspective of the benefits of this training. In addition, they have insight as to where an online ELNEC module series specifically for undergraduate nursing students would best be integrated within the curriculum. This study used a mixed methods strategy to evaluate students’ opinions on the placement of end-of-life care education within the curriculum and their experience of having received ELNEC training previously throughout their program. Senior-level nursing student opinions on the placement of the ELNEC modules within the curriculum were equally divided, with one-third suggesting placement at the sophomore level, one-third suggesting placement at the junior level, and one-third suggesting placement at the senior level. Students also offered a recommendation for an end-of-life care simulation integration into the Bachelor of Science in Nursing curriculum. Students who have been receiving ELNEC training integrated throughout the curriculum reported feeling comfortable with providing end-of-life care after graduation. Themes extracted from students’ suggestions on improving end-of-life care education were as follows: (1) The quality and consistency of instruction needs to be enhanced, (2) palliative care education should be delivered using various methods, and (3) methods to assess education on palliative care should be improved. Students reported that ELNEC training helped them to gain insight into the key elements in palliative care, to understand the differences and similarities between palliative care and hospice, and to understand the nurse’s role in palliative care and hospice.
BackgroundHeart failure (HF) afflicts 6.5 million Americans with devastating consequences to patients and their family caregivers. Families are rarely prepared for worsening HF and are not informed about end-of-life and palliative care (EOLPC) conservative comfort options especially during the end stage. West Virginia (WV) has the highest rate of HF deaths in the U.S. where 14% of the population over 65 years have HF. Thus, there is a need to investigate a new family EOLPC intervention (FamPALcare), where nurses coach family-managed advanced HF care at home.MethodsThis study uses a randomized controlled trial (RCT) design stratified by gender to determine any differences in the FamPALcare HF patients and their family caregiver outcomes versus standard care group outcomes (N = 72). Aim 1 is to test the FamPALcare nursing care intervention with patients and family members managing home supportive EOLPC for advanced HF. Aim 2 is to assess implementation of the FamPALcare intervention and research procedures for subsequent clinical trials. Intervention group will receive routine standard care, plus 5-weekly FamPALcare intervention delivered by community-based nurses. The intervention sessions involve coaching patients and family caregivers in advanced HF home care and supporting EOLPC discussions based on patients’ preferences. Data are collected at baseline, 3, and 6 months. Recruitment is from sites affiliated with a large regional hospital in WV and community centers across the state.DiscussionThe outcomes of this clinical trial will result in new knowledge on coaching techniques for EOLPC and approaches to palliative and end-of-life rural home care. The HF population in WV will benefit from a reduction in suffering from the most common advanced HF symptoms, selecting their preferred EOLPC care options, determining their advance directives, and increasing skills and resources for advanced HF home care. The study will provide a long-term collaboration with rural community leaders, and collection of data on the implementation and research procedures for a subsequent large multi-site clinical trial of the FamPALcare intervention. Multidisciplinary students have opportunity to engage in the research process.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT04153890, Registered on 4 November 2019
Background It is important that education on palliative care begin early in prelicensure nursing education because of the complex care needs of patients requiring end-of-life care. Problem Nursing students often lack confidence and skills in providing quality care for these patients. Approach Nursing students’ attitudes on end-of-life care were assessed using the Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying scale. Students were tested as sophomores, then again as seniors, in a nursing program where the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) curriculum had previously been integrated. Outcomes Seniors reported improved comfort levels providing end-of-life care. Conclusion Assessing for improved comfort levels among nursing students who receive ELNEC training could help support ongoing efforts to integrate this education in all nursing programs. Students who had formal education in end-of-life care were more comfortable caring for patients at end of life and had a better understanding of their role.
Aim: To pilot test a home end-of-life and palliative care intervention for family caregivers and patients with rare advanced lung diseases and to estimate effect-size for the power analysis in a future clinical trial. Design:This study uses a parallel randomized control trial. Families are randomly assigned to the intervention group or the control group in a 1:1 fashion. Methods: The study population includes patients with rare advanced lung diseases and their family caregivers who are involved in patients' home care. The control group receives standard care through their hospital or outpatient clinics. The intervention group receives standard care plus 2-weekly home end-of-life and palliative care coaching by experienced community nurses. Primary outcome is breathlessness measured by shortness of breath scale. Secondary outcomes are: (a) caregivers' anxiety and depression measures; (b) the presence of patient's signed advance directives in the medical record or not; and (c) Helpfulness of intervention measured by selfreport Helpfulness scale. The study was funded in October 2018 and received ethical Institutional Review Board approval in February 2019.Discussion: West Virginia has one of the highest incidence rates of lung disease deaths in the nation. However, there is inadequate home end-of-life and palliative care for this underserved population. This is an initial interventional study of nurseled coaching home-based palliative care for rare advanced lung diseases in rural Appalachia. Developing research collaboration with clinicians is essential for enrolment. Enrolment was successful due to regular meetings with pulmonologists who screened patients per the study inclusion criteria in their specialty clinic and madeThe peer review history for this article is available at https://publo ns.com/publo n/10.1111/jan.14395.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.