Knowledge and attitude towards palliative care and associated factors among nurse: a cross-sectional descriptive...

Palliative care is defined as basic care that is provided for patients who suffer from pain and suffering due to illness. These cares are primarily provided by nurses, so their knowledge and attitude play a significant role in this area. In this study, the aim was to investigate nurses' knowledge and attitudes regarding palliative and supportive care, as well as related factors.

The present study is a cross-sectional, descriptive study that was conducted on 370 nurses working in Shahid Behaeshti hospital randomly selected between February to May 2023 in Kashan, Iran. The questionnaire of demographic and professional information, knowledge and attitude was completed by the samples in the form of self-reporting. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent sample t-tests and univariate regression.

The mean knowledge score of nurses was 10.16 ± 2.16, and the attitude score was 55.32 ± 10.56. Knowledge scores were higher for nurses (p = 0.02), nurses with experience caring for dying patients (p = 0.002), and nurses with job satisfaction (p = 0.02). The mean attitude score among nurses who attended a palliative care training course was also higher (p = 0.03). There were several predictors of knowledge, including age, bachelor's degree, experience caring for a dying patient, being a head nurse, and job satisfaction (R² = 0.062, Adjusted R = 0.055, p < 0.05). It was determined that work experience, experience with an ill patient, palliative care training and feeling the need to have training as predictors of attitudes towards palliative care (R² = 0.129, Adjusted R = 0.110, p < 0.05).

It is concluded that holding palliative care training courses and paying attention to the obstacles that prevent the implementation of this care are necessary and important in order to improve nurses' knowledge and attitudes.