Perception of Nursing Students towards palliative care of cervical cancer in Sudan

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objectives: The primary objective was to determine awareness, attitude, and practice of undergraduate nursing students towards prevention and treatment of cervical cancer. The Secondary objective was to ensure their participation in raising awareness, screening, management of precancel conditions, and invasive cervical cancer, as well as palliative care.Materials, Methods: A descriptive - cross sectional study was carried out in the nursing colleges at Khartoum state universities. A total of 246 female undergraduate students, selected through simple random sample were interviewed. A pre test was done among 10 students to ensure validity of the study. The knowledge, and practice towards treatment of cervical cancer and palliative care were identified according to a certain scale, being as good, fair, and poor on the basis of correct items. Result: Most of the students has poor information about the burden of cervical cancer and current situation of disease in Sudan. Students have poor information about the management of precancerous conditions, with significant difference between students in this aspect (P 0.000) and less than half (40.7%) of the respondents were not familiar with palliative care (P 0.012). Nearly one third of the respondents received their information mainly from the mass media p (0.000). Most of the students did not know the component of palliative care and how to provide relief a rise symptoms of advancing disease.