Abstract
Providing quality care for those dying in hospital is challenging for health professionals who receive little training in this. “End of Life Essentials” (EOLE) was developed to address gaps in health professionals’ knowledge, skills and confidence in end-of-life care via the provision of online learning modules and practice resources. This study aimed to determine whether respondents could describe clinical practice change as a result of module completion. Deidentified data were collected between October and November 2018 from learners registered for the online learning modules. Both quantitative and qualitative data were extracted and analysed. The survey design and conduct were reviewed, and ethical approval was obtained. Although the response rate was very low, results from n = 122 learners show improvements in knowledge, skills, awareness and confidence as a result of the undertaking of the learning modules. Two thirds self-reported practice changes (71%, n = 59) following the education, with “communication” cited most commonly (n = 19). The findings suggest that the EOLE education modules can help to improve end-of-life care by increasing health professionals’ awareness of good practice as well as their knowledge, skills and confidence. Online learning has also been reinforced as an appropriate forum for end-of-life education. Following education, implementing what has been learned occurs more easily at a personal level rather than at a team and organisational level. Barriers to and enablers of clinical practice change in hospital are described, including the fact that the organisation may not be responsive to changes or have the relevant resources to support change.
Highlights
Increasing numbers of people die in acute care settings [1,2,3], often in Western or developed countries where this can be as high as 50% [2,4]
While the education modules were based on the Consensus Statement [9], the survey itself was based on previous work undertaken on practice change with postgraduate palliative care alumni [24], and on work undertaken on practice change as a result of earlier evaluation of the End of Life Essentials (EOLE) education modules [23]
While the responses received provide valuable insight into the role that the EOLE modules play in building awareness and knowledge of the end-of-life issues faced by health professionals in hospitals, a poor response rate limits the generalisability and reliability of these findings
Summary
Increasing numbers of people die in acute care settings [1,2,3], often in Western or developed countries where this can be as high as 50% [2,4]. Undergraduate degrees do not address end-of-life care in sufficient detail [6], and an inadequately trained workforce poses a major barrier to the provision of quality end-of-life care, with examples found in medicine/nursing [7] and allied health [8]. The consequences of this are that health professionals—and as a result, families—can be unprepared for a death, possibly leading to adverse bereavement outcomes [2].
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