Acquisition of palliative care knowledge through a transversal approach in nursing studies

Abstract

The inclusion of palliative care content in university curricula has been gradual. Due to the recent incorporation of palliative care as a subject, an evaluation is necessary in order improve the education of our future health professionals. The objective of this study was thus to assess palliative care knowledge in nursing students at Jaume I University after the transversal inclusion of palliative care content throughout the program, culminating in a subject of an obligatory nature. Method: This observational cross-sectional study was undertaken over the 2017/2018 academic year using the Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing. A descriptive and comparative analysis of the quantitative and qualitative global variables was performed with respect to correct/incorrect responses. Statistical significance was set at p <0.05. Results: The sample included 155 participants, with a mean age of 22.21±6.61 years. Females (n=124) were predominant in the sample (80%). The domain which received the highest number of correct responses was related to the control of pain and symptoms (69.1%) and the domain which received the highest number of incorrect responses was related to philosophy and principles (46.9%). Academic year and prior palliative care experience explained 16% of the variance in knowledge. Conclusions: Through our results, we observed that palliative care education, implemented in a transversal manner and with the completion of compulsory subject in the fourth year, was effective in nursing students, with 63% achieving good scores with respect to palliative care knowledge.