Efficiency of a palliative education programme for nursing students.

BACKGROUND

Many nursing students are ill-prepared to care for patients nearing the end of their lives and lack knowledge about palliative care. A focused teaching strategy could help students better understand their own feelings and conduct. It could also foster positive attitudes that make it easier to provide outstanding care.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the efficiency of palliative education programme for nursing students caring for patients at the end of life.

METHODS

A quasi-experimental study was carried out with 216 nursing students from Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University in Alkharj, Saudi Arabia, using a proportionate stratified random sampling approach. The educational intervention consisted of three key modules: bereavement support, understanding the dying process and specialised palliative nursing care. Students engaged with 60 video segments through the Blackboard platform, available on a smartphone or tablet. Data collection involved four questionnaires: (a) a demographic survey, (b) the Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing, (c) the Frommelt Attitudes Towards Care of the Dying Scale, and (d) the Death Attitude Profile-Revised.

RESULTS

Slightly over half of the nursing students (51.9%) were younger than 20 years, with a mean age of 22.8±13.5 years, and 51.4% were female. The vast majority of participants in this study (86.6%) had no prior education or training in palliative care. After participating in the palliative education programme, students showed significant improvements in their overall knowledge, Frommelt Attitudes and Death Attitude Profile-Revised scores in the post-test assessment. These results highlight the programme's effectiveness in enhancing nursing students' comprehension and attitudes toward palliative care.

CONCLUSION

A palliative care education programme can improve nursing students' knowledge and attitudes toward caring for patients at the end of life and supporting their families. Therefore, it is recommended that a palliative care course should be a mandatory part of nursing curricula. This course should incorporate experiential learning activities, including postmortem care, small group reflections and simulation-based training. To provide a well-rounded educational experience, these practical components should be reinforced with theoretical lectures.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Changing nurses' perceptions of mortality requires specialised training, and this should be prioritised in Saudi Arabia.