Palliative care knowledge, attitudes, and self-competence of nurses working in hospital settings

Palliative care knowledge, attitudes, and self-competence of nurses working in hospital settings
Journal of Palliative Care; by Mona Ibrahim Hebeshy, Darcy Copeland; 6/25
With the growing need to integrate palliative care into healthcare systems, nurses in hospital settings often provide care for patients with life-limiting conditions, many of whom lack formal education in palliative care. [Conclusions:] Nurses generally feel competent; however, they often lack confidence in addressing patients’ social and spiritual needs. They experienced unease when discussing death and exhibited paternalistic attitudes. Significant differences were found in educational background, nursing experience, personal caregiving experience, and practice setting. Positive correlations exist between attitudes, knowledge, and self-competence, indicating that greater knowledge and competence were associated with better attitudes toward end-of-life care.