Knowledge in palliative care of nursing professionals at a Spanish hospital

Abstract

ResumeObjective:to determine the level of knowledge in palliative care of nursing staff at a Spanish tertiary care hospital. Method:descriptive, cross-sectional study. Data were collected about the results of the Spanish version of the Palliative Care Quiz for Nurses (PCQN), sociodemographic aspects, education level and experience in the field of palliative care. Univariate and bivariate descriptive analysis was applied. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05 in all cases. Results:159 professionals participated (mean age 39.51 years ± 10.25, with 13.96 years ± 10.79 of professional experience) 54.7% possessed experience in palliative care and 64.2% educational background (mainly basic education). The mean percentage of hits on the quiz was 54%, with statistically significant differences in function of the participants’ education and experience in palliative care. Conclusions:although the participants show sufficient knowledge on palliative care, they would benefit from a specific training program, in function of the mistaken concepts identified through the quiz, which showed to be a useful tool to diagnose professionals’ educational needs in palliative care.

Instruments for assessing nurses’ palliative care knowledge and skills in specialised care setting: An integrative review

“…The principles consisted of understanding the philosophy and guidelines of palliative care and recognising the active nature of palliative care, its compatibility with aggressive treatment and its relationship to other treatments. Identifying the suitability of palliative care for a patient and being able to determine when a patient needs palliative care were also important characteristics of the general basis of palliative care (Kim et al, ; Choi, Lee, Kim, Kim, & Kim, ; Ly, Yates, & Osborne, ; Iranmanesh et al, ; Abudari, Zahreddine, Hazeim, Al Assi, & Emara, ; Shimizu et al, ; Chover‐Sierra, Martinez‐Sabater, & Lapena‐Monux, ; Chover‐Sierra, Martinez‐Sabater, & Lapena‐Monux, ; Schnell‐Hoehn, Estrella‐Holder, & Avery, ;…”

“…Knowledge about the efficacy of the drugs was linked to choosing the right medication according to the patient's symptoms, knowing the interactions between drugs and understanding the different possible routes for administering medication. Nurses needed knowledge of the side effects that drugs can cause, especially in situations where incorrect perceptions about adverse effects could hinder the selection of the most effective medication for the palliative care patient (Nakazawa et al, ; Choi et al, ; Sato et al, ; Iranmanesh et al, ; Abudari et al, ; Shimizu et al, ; Chover‐Sierra et al, , ; Schnell‐Hoehn et al, ; Nakazawa, Kato, Miyashita, Morita, & Kizawa, ).…”

“…Gastrointestinal symptom management included care for dryness of the mouth and the treatment of nausea, vomiting and constipation (Desbiens & Fillion, ; Slatten et al, ; Price et al, ). The evaluation of patient's pain consisted of understanding the holistic nature of the pain and its connection to the life‐limiting illness and, furthermore, identifying the goals of pain management (Nakazawa et al, , ; Desbiens & Fillion, ; Choi et al, ; Sato et al, ; Chover‐Sierra et al, , ; Schnell‐Hoehn et al, ). Pain management required a knowledge of pharmacological treatments, as well as nonpharmacological and complementary interventions to alleviate pain (Desbiens & Fillion, ; Choi et al, ; Slatten et al, ; Price et al, ; Chover‐Sierra et al, , ; Schnell‐Hoehn et al, ; Montagnini et al, ).…”

“…Identification of psychosocial needs is important when assessing the family's resources and the effects of the patient's illness on family dynamics (Desbiens & Fillion, ; Price et al, ; Montagnini et al, ). Families also need assistance in finding resources for bereavement and coping with death (Desbiens & Fillion, ; Kim et al, ; Choi et al, ; Iranmanesh et al, ; Autor et al, ; Abudari et al, ; Kim & Hwang, ; Razban, Tirgari, & Iranmanesh, ; Chover‐Sierra et al, , ; Montagnini et al, ; Feder et al, ).…”

“…The most commonly used knowledge test is the Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing (PCQN), which was used in ten of the studies. Knowledge in the knowledge instruments was assessed using items with “true” or “false” answer options (Ke, Chiu, Lo, & Hu, ; Kim et al, ; Choi et al, ; Autor et al, ; Abudari et al, ; Iranmanesh et al, ; Kim & Hwang, ; Shimizu et al, ; Chover‐Sierra et al, , ; Schnell‐Hoehn et al, ) or “right” or “wrong” answers (Nakazawa et al, , ; Sato et al, ; Arahata et al, ). The knowledge items mainly evaluated nurses’ knowledge of the philosophy, ethics and principles of palliative care; pain and symptom management; pharmacological care; psychological, social and cultural care; and care at the end of life (Table ).…”