Healthcare Professionals' Advice to Guide End-Of-Life Care Education Delivery in Hospitals: A Qualitative Study.

AIM: To explore the key advice healthcare professionals would give colleagues regarding end-of-life care delivery in hospitals, thereby informing training needs.

DESIGN

Exploratory qualitative study.

METHODS

Free-text responses from medical, nursing, and allied health professionals who completed online end-of-life care education modules (n = 597) from August 2022 to September 2023 were analysed using inductive content analysis. Results were explored and separated into two key findings: themes that were shared by all professional groups and themes that were profession specific.

RESULTS

Five themes were consistent across all three professional groups: prioritise patient comfort, proactive communication, collaboration and inclusion, human approach and support and wellbeing, each with their own subthemes. Several profession specific subthemes were also identified.

CONCLUSION

The identification of common themes across healthcare professions helps to support the development of interprofessional training initiatives.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE: This research contributes valuable insights for developing targeted end-of-life care education programs. Results also underscore the potential of online learning platforms in providing accessible, evidence-based, continuing professional development in end-of-life care.

IMPACT: In Australia, most deaths occur in acute hospital settings. To inform and shape future training, this study collected the key advice healthcare professionals would give colleagues regarding end-of-life care delivery. The themes generated covered a range of potential training topics shared across all professionals, including prioritise patient comfort, proactive communication, collaboration and inclusion, human approach and support and wellbeing. Several profession-specific subthemes were also identified, providing additional insights for designing training for professional groups. Results underscore the potential of online learning platforms in providing accessible, evidence-based, continuing professional development in end-of-life care.

REPORTING METHOD: Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR).

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: None.