Learner-centred education in end-of-life care improved well being in home care staff: a prospective controlled study

The aim of this controlled study was to evaluate a 1-year learner-centred educational project in end-of-life care for home care staff in a rural district of Sweden. Another rural district in the same region served as a control area. A 20-item questionnaire measuring attitudes towards end-of-life care was designed, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale was used to measure mental well being. Increased agreement to 18 of 20 attitude statements was seen in the education group, while 2 of 20 items showed a decreased agreement in the control group. Test-retest reliability of the 20-item questionnaire was good (r=0.92). The total HAD score decreased from 8.3 pretest to 5.3 post-test in the education group (95% CI = 2.1 -3.7; P<0.001), and was 6.8 for both years in the control group. Our study shows that a comprehensive educational programme not only improved attitudes towards end-of-life care, but also the mental well being of the home care staff.