Palliative care nurses' perceptions of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale: a pilot survey.

AIM

to evaluate, at a pilot level, palliative care nurses' perceptions of the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale's (ESAS's) feasibility and usefulness.

METHODS

all nurses working within the Edmonton Palliative Care Programme were provided with a one-page document containing five statements about the benefits and feasibility of the ESAS, and invited to rate each statement on a five-point Likert scale (1=strongly agree; 5=strongly disagree).

RESULTS

of the 74 nursing staff employed in the programme, 48 (64.9%) chose to participate in this study. Perceptions of the ESAS were most favourable among the 22 registered nurses: 21 (95.4%) believed the ESAS helped staff care for patients; and 17 (77.3%) believed patients benefited from implementation of the instrument. Most registered nurses found that the ESAS took little time and effort to complete. Licensed practical nurses and nursing attendants had a less favourable perception of the ESAS.

CONCLUSION

the results of this pilot study demonstrate that palliative care nurses' perceptions of the ESAS are favourable generally, although they vary according to level of professional training. A full-scale study will be necessary to attain a more in-depth evaluation.