Evaluating strategies for changing acute care nurses' perceptions on end-of-life care

Providing quality care to the dying has become a primary concern in the United States. Eighty percent of deaths still occur in the hospital even though nurses report they do not think that good deaths are routinely possible within a hospital setting due to lack of appropriate education on end-of-life care. The aim of this pilot study was to test the best method for changing acute nurse's perceptions about end-of-life care. A 3-group experimental design tested the efficacy of a nurse-led hospice collaborative. Hypotheses were: (1) nurses who receive classroom instruction will have greater change in perceptions than the control group and (2) nurses who receive a combination of classroom and hospice experiences will demonstrate greater changes than the classroom or control group. No significant differences were found among the 3 groups. However, the intervention group showed increased guilt about not having enough time to spend with the dying.