Estudio multicéntrico sobre la comodidad y el interés en cuidados paliativos en estudiantes de pregrado en Colombia

Abstract

Background and objectiveEducation is considered as a component of the public health strategy for palliative care (PC) in the World Health Organization public health model. However, in Colombia only 3 out of 57 medical schools teach PC. As part of a project to promote the teaching of PC in Colombian medical schools and its integration in the undergraduate curriculum, meetings were held with medical and/or nursing students in 3 universities in Colombia. The aim of this investigation is to describe and analyze the comfort level in common PC situations of students from 3 universities in Colombia, and their interest in this discipline. MethodMulticenter cross-sectional study. The sampling was made up of the participants in meetings in 3 universities. Two questionnaires were used: one to evaluate comfort in hypothetical scenarios common to PC, and another to evaluate the interest. Demographic and academic information were also recorded. ResultsA total of 203 students participated in the meetings, with 101 nursing students and 96 medical students, of whom 25% had a previous course in PC. Students with previous PC courses and medical students scored higher in comfort than nursing students and students with no previous courses. Topics such as giving bad news, grief management, and communicating therapeutic limitation/adequacy were reported as less comfortable. Clinical issues such as symptom control and implementation of the World Health Organization analgesic ladder were reported as more comfortable. Almost all (99%) of students agreed that it was important to incorporate PC in the undergraduate programs. In an open question regarding topics that students considered more important, were listed: communication (especially breaking bad news), general aspects of PC, ethical issues, and treatment of pain and other symptoms. ConclusionsThese results indicate that training in PC at undergraduate level improves their comfort in common PC situations. It also shows the need to integrate PC into existing programs in Colombia. Inclusion of PC education at the undergraduate level in medicine and nursing schools is desired and urgent.