Knowledge, attitude, confidence, and educational needs of palliative care in nurses caring for non-cancer patients: a cross-sectional, descriptive study

Abstract

Background: Palliative care is a patient-centred, integrated approach for improving quality of life for both patients facing life-threatening illnesses and for their families. Although there has been increased interest in palliative care for non-cancer patients, the palliative care competency of nurses who care for non-cancer patients has rarely been investigated. This study described the palliative care knowledge, attitude, confidence, and educational needs in nurses who care for patients with congestive heart failure, stroke, end-stage renal disease, and end-stage liver disease; explored the relationships between those variables; and identified factors affecting nurses' palliative care confidence. Methods: A cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational design was employed; data collection was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea. Nurses who were working in general wards and intensive care units (N = 102) completed valid and reliable self-administered questionnaires. Descriptive statistics, frequencies, independent t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlations, and multiple regression were conducted to analyse the data. Results: Nurses' palliative care knowledge level was low (9.73 ± 2.10; range = 0-20) and their attitude toward palliative care was moderate (87.97 ± 6.93, range: 30-120). Knowledge was significantly correlated with attitude (r = .29, p = .003). Nurses were highly confident in pain and symptom management but demonstrated high educational needs for managing human and material resources to provide palliative care. Previous training in hospice, palliative, and EOL care was a significant and modifiable factor that affected nurses' confidence (std. β = 0.25, p = .010). Conclusions: To facilitate high-quality palliative care for non-cancer patients and families, nursing education programs should be developed to address nurses' knowledge level, confidence level, and educational needs. This study provides relevant information that can be utilised to develop palliative care educational programs for nurses who care for non-cancer patients.

Attitudes of Front-Line Nurses Toward Hospice Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Having adequate knowledge of hospice care was also a factor that affected the nurses’ attitudes toward hospice care, which is consistent with the research of Kim et al 24 They showed that the knowledge of hospice care of nurses was significantly correlated with their attitudes, training in hospice care, palliative care, and death care. 24 Nurses with sufficient knowledge of hospice care may be more able to understand death from a scientific and humane perspective and establish a healthy outlook on life and death. This would enable them to actively treat terminally ill patients, help patients to accept the natural law of life, and provide patients and their families with adequate hospice care, and mental and psychological support.…”

Decision-Making by Emergency Medicine Personnel in Prehospital Treatment of Patients Receiving Palliative Care: A Questionnaire, Comparative Cohort Study

“…28 Moreover, knowledge levels remain low among health care professionals regarding patients who are receiving palliative care. 29 The result of this study showed that education and training program is not the only key factor to be initiated to improve the quality of EMS service for palliative care patients. The healthcare system, the EMS system, the national policy and patients' awareness are also crucial factors for driving change in EMS practice.…”

“… 28 Moreover, knowledge levels remain low among health care professionals regarding patients who are receiving palliative care. 29 …”

Caring Professional Attitude Of nursing In Palliative Nursing Care

“…Palliative nursing care is a nursing intervention approach for patients who have chronic diseases and prolonged suffering condition (World Palliative Care Alliance, 2014), (Rodin et al, 2020). Nurses have the main competence that are caring for patients and their families and make benchmarks for the professionalism of nurses that consist of empathy, therapeutic communication skills, and patient-centered care (Griffiths et al, 2012), (Kim et al, 2020). Caring is a basic concept of nursing that includes interpersonal interpretation of patients with some characteristics such as professional knowledge, skills, professional maturity and nurse sensitivity (Drahošová & Jarošová, 2016).…”