Knowledge of palliative care and attitudes towards nursing the dying patient

This study examines the palliative care knowledge and attitudes towards caring for the dying patient of nurses working in care of older people settings in one rural region in Ireland.

A cross-sectional survey design was used combining two questionnaires: the palliative care quiz for nurses (PCQN) and the thanatophobia scale (TS).

A total of 61 nurses completed the questionnaire. There was a significant correlation found between level of knowledge and attitudes towards palliative care (p=0.007), highlighting that as participants' level of palliative care knowledge increased, attitudes become more positive. While palliative care training did not impact on the mean overall scores, there was a significant difference in the PCQN scores of those who had completed the European Certificate in Essential Palliative Care (ECEPC) compared with those who had attended information sessions within their unit. Furthermore, increasing years as a registered nurse improved palliative care knowledge and attitudes towards caring for the dying.

Nurses who completed the ECEPC had better knowledge of palliative care when compared with nurses who had not undertaken the programme. This article also considers areas of focus for palliative care training.