Analysis of Spanish nursing students' knowledge in palliative care. An online survey in five colleges.

Along their professional career, nurses can find patients who require palliative care (PC). It is necessary to have at least a basic education in this area, that should be acquired during their university education. The objective of this descriptive online-survey set in five nursing Colleges was to analyze Spanish nursing students' knowledge in PC, offering an image of the status of education in PC. 619 students took an online questionnaire with the Spanish version of the Palliative Care Quiz for Nurses (PCQN-SV), which also collected information about their education in the field of PC. Univariate and bivariate analyses were performed, and a predictive binary logistic regression model was developed. Students obtained an average 45.65% of right answers in PCQN-SV, with differences related to the college and academic year in which they were enrolled and to their education in PC. In the regression model having theoretical education in PC (OR = 1.70) and academic year (OR = 1.35) showed to be both predictors of getting a result in PCQN-SV over 45% of correct answers. This study showed that Spanish nursing students have a medium-low level of knowledge in PC, and it also supports the need to develop a common framework for nurses' education in PC.