Knowledge and attitudes of undergraduate nursing students towards palliative care.

BACKGROUND

While palliative care education has been integrated into the nursing curriculum in Ghana, there remains a scarcity of research that assesses the knowledge and attitudes of undergraduate nursing students toward palliative care and care of the dying.

AIM: This study assessed the knowledge and attitudes of undergraduate nursing students regarding palliative care.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study design was used, including a questionnaire-based survey. A total of 272 undergraduate nursing students were selected through convenience sampling.

RESULTS

Most respondents demonstrated poor PC knowledge. Most students exhibited positive attitudes towards palliative care. Factors significantly associated with PC knowledge included being an older student (p=.028) and female gender (p=.038). Positive attitudes towards PC were significantly influenced by experiencing the death of a patient during clinical placement (p=.036), female gender (p=.001), and academic level (fourth year; p=.032).

CONCLUSIONS

The study revealed that the nursing students who participated had a positive attitude towards palliative care but poor knowledge.