Abstract
IntroductionPalliative care is a multidisciplinary approach which is focused on both the patient and their family. Therefore the objectives of the study is to assess the knowledge and attitude towards palliative care and its associated factors among nurses in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia, 2018.MethodsAn institutional based cross-sectional quantitative study design was carried out using 355 nurses working in selected hospitals in Tigray region from February to March, 2018. Systematic random sampling was used to select six governmental hospitals. We used triangulation in the study method, making use of both Frommelt's Attitude Toward Care of the Dying (FATCOD) scale, and Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing (PCQN) knowledge. SPSS were applied for data entry and analysis. Statistical significance was declared at P<0.05. The goodness of fit the final logistic model was tested by using the Hosmer and Lemeshow test at a value of > 0.05.ResultsAll the participants were able to respond. Out of the total study participants, 223 (62.8%) had good knowledge and 200 (56.3%) had a favorable attitude towards Palliative care. A medical ward had (AOR = 3.413, CI = 1.388-8.392, P = 0.019), trained Nurses [AOR = 3.488; CI = 1.735-7.015; P = 0.00) significant associated with nurses knowledge towards palliative care. Nurses working in the lemlem Karl (AOR=2.541; 95% CI; 0.013(1.106-5.835), nurses who had a 20-30 years ago had unfavorable attitude (AOR = 2.660; 95% CI; 0.002(1.386-5.106) were significant.ConclusionThe nurses had poor knowledge. However, their attitude towards palliative care (PC) was favorable.
Highlights
Palliative care is a multidisciplinary approach and is focused on both the patient and their family [1]
Nurses' knowledge towards palliative care (PC): nearly 89.9% of the respondents knew the definition of PC and 80.6% agreed that PC is being given when patient's conditions are downhill trajectory or deterioration
The result of this study suggested that the majority of respondents that have had a poor knowledge towards PC but attitude were favorable
Summary
Palliative care is a multidisciplinary approach and is focused on both the patient and their family [1]. Sixty five percent of worldwide death was reported from non-communicable diseases (NCDs), i.e. cancer, diabetic mellitus, cardiovascular disease and chronic respiratory problem in which palliative care can play significant role in bringing relief for both physical and mental symptoms of the illness [3]. Palliative care includes the time range starting from the onset and progress of the chronic illness, through the terminal stages of the disease and until the end of life. It is a collaborative approach encompassing various managements, notably include medical and spiritual management [4]. There is an obvious difference between nurses' qualification, experience, and training of palliative care towards Knowledge of PC [10]
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