Does post-registration palliative care education for nurses improve practice? A systematic review.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Palliative Care
• End-of-Life Care

Background:

• The 2008 End of Life Care Strategy highlighted the need for skilled healthcare professionals in end-of-life care.
• Registered nurses require specific education to provide high-quality palliative and end-of-life care.
• The impact of this education on actual nursing practice remains uncertain.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the evidence for post-registration palliative care education improving nursing practice.
• To identify the effects of specialized palliative care training on registered nurses.
• To assess the link between education and enhanced end-of-life care delivery.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of literature using Joanna Briggs Institute Mixed Methods methodology.
• Searched Medline, Embase, and CINAHL databases from January 2006 to December 2018.
• Included ten studies, with seven providing quantitative data and six offering qualitative findings.

Main Results:

• Six of seven quantitative studies showed improvements in outcome measures, though not always statistically significant.
• Quantitative data primarily consisted of self-reported confidence levels among nurses.
• Qualitative findings revealed themes of increased confidence, practice change, enhanced skills, and proactivity.

Conclusions:

• Limited research currently exists on the impact of post-registration palliative care education on nursing practice.
• Existing measures do not conclusively demonstrate improvements in end-of-life care practices.
• Further research is recommended to link self-reported confidence to practice improvements and to evaluate educational initiatives' impact on practice.