Advancing the primary palliative workforce: Pilot results of the Educating Social Workers in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (ESPEC) self-study program

Advancing the primary palliative workforce: Pilot results of the Educating Social Workers in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (ESPEC) self-study program
Journal of Palliative Medicine; by Myra Glajchen, Cathy Berkman, Shirley Otis-Green, Russell K Portenoy; 4/25
Health social workers caring for the seriously ill may lack preparation in the primary palliative skills needed for this complex task. An evidence-based, nationally scalable, multimodality training program-Educating Social Workers in Palliative and End-of-Life Care (ESPEC)-was developed to address the training needs of health social workers. Prior to completing the online training, 21.6%-50.0% of participants rated themselves as "very confident" in the clinical practice skills central to the role of the social worker in serious illness care. After completing the modules, 58.8%-81.4% rated themselves as "very confident" in both clinical and professional skills, with significant changes in nine clinical practices and four professional practices. This pilot supports the feasibility, acceptability, and educational potential of the ESPEC self-study training in increasing confidence in key practices of primary palliative care for health social workers.