Abstract
BackgroundIn many countries, nurses are ill-prepared to provide care to patients with terminal illnesses. Limited education and training affect their ability to deliver proper palliative care. Only a few studies have explored appropriate and effective training methods of palliative care in China. Therefore, we aimed to provide evidence for a palliative care training system by appraising the effects of a mixed-method intervention on participants’ knowledge of palliative care and attitudes towards dying patients and death.MethodsAn e-learning intervention approach was adopted for 97 nurses from oncology departments across five hospitals, using a mobile terminal combined with a virtual forum and face-to-face interactions. We conducted a pre- and post-training evaluation through the Palliative Care Quiz of Nursing (PCQN), Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Scale Form B (FATCOD-B), and Death Attitude Profile-Revised (DAP-R).ResultsAfter a three-week intervention, there was a significant increase in the PCQN and FATCOD-B scores as compared to the baseline. For PCQN, the total score increased from 10.3 ± 1.9 to 11.1 ± 2.2 (p = .011) and the score for management of pain and other symptoms increased from 7.7 ± 1.7 to 8.4 ± 1.7 (p = .003). FATCOD-B scores increased noticeably from 100.6 ± 7.9 to 102.9 ± 8.9 (p = .019). The DAP-R scores showed no obvious difference between pre- and post-intervention results.ConclusionsThe mixed-method intervention was effective in improving participants’ knowledge and attitudes about palliative care. The implementation of training for nurses at appropriate intervals during both education and professional life is required, especially regarding the improvement in participants’ attitudes towards death. Therefore, palliative care training in China should receive more attention.
Highlights
In many countries, nurses are ill-prepared to provide care to patients with terminal illnesses
Global population ageing and the rising prominence of chronic non-communicable diseases have resulted in an increased demand for palliative care nursing [1]
Providing professionally trained palliative care staff is a potential solution for improving the quality of life of patients facing lifethreatening illnesses
Summary
Nurses are ill-prepared to provide care to patients with terminal illnesses. A few studies have explored appropriate and effective training methods of palliative care in China. Providing professionally trained palliative care staff is a potential solution for improving the quality of life of patients facing lifethreatening illnesses. Chinese nurses face barriers in their clinical competencies as they do not receive adequate palliative care education in nursing schools, [10, 11] and associated professional training in this field at their workplaces [12, 13]. Educational training is a crucial element for enhancing nurses’ competence [14]. To eliminate this educational gap, establishment of a professional training system in palliative care for nurses in China is imperative
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