Effect of Online Training on Palliative Care Knowledge of Nursing Assistants

Background: Nursing assistants (NAs) in long-term care facilities contribute to palliative care by assisting with activities of daily living and comfort care. There is a gap in evaluated palliative care trainings for NAs. Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of online training on knowledge of psychosocial aspects of palliative care among NAs. Design: We used a wait-listed randomized two-group pretest-posttest design. The training was developed based on literature review and needs assessment. All participants completed a baseline evaluation. The intervention group took a posttest on palliative care knowledge upon completing an eight-module palliative care training, with the control group just completing the assessments. Setting/Subjects: NAs (n = 102) from six long-term care facilities in the United States were in the intervention (n = 51) and a control group (n = 51). The retention rate was 90% at the posttest, with 46 NAs in each group (n = 92). Measurements: We measured palliative care knowledge using 50 questions (scored 0-100) at baseline and posttest. The questions were developed to measure how well the participants understood the training content. Results: Palliative care knowledge significantly increased in the intervention group only (mean score 4.1 points, p < 0.05). The posttest score of the intervention group was significantly greater than that of the control group (mean score 6.5 points, p < 0.005). The effect size of the difference in posttest scores between two study groups was medium (Glass's Δ 0.60). Conclusion: The results indicate the effectiveness of online training in improving NAs' knowledge of psychosocial aspects of palliative care.