Improving Nurses' Perceived Self-efficacy with Palliative Care Education

Due to the remarkable advances in the field of intensive care, it has been possible to assist critically ill patients and this has led to a longer life expectancy in those with very poor prognosis. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived self-efficacy of nurses with palliative care education.

This study was an experimental study conducted in 2019. The study population included of nurses working in Maybod and Aardakan hospitals that 80 were selected by random sampling. The intervention consisted of teaching the concept of palliative care for four 60 minute sessions. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and Palliative Care Self-Efficacy Scale (PCSES). Questionnaires were completed by the subjects before and after education. Data were analyzed by SPSS 16 software using descriptive and analytical statistics (univariate covariance analysis).

The mean age of participants in the intervention group was 38.6 years and work experience was 14.25 years, which was significantly higher than the control group. In both groups, the majority of participants were female (85%) and had a bachelor's degree (92.5%). Mean scores of perceived self-efficacy and its dimensions in the pre-test were significantly different between the two groups and were higher in the intervention group than the control group. After controlling for the effect of age, work experience and pre-test scores, using ANCOVA test, it was found that the mean perceived self-efficacy score and its dimensions in the intervention group were significantly higher than the control group (P <0.001).

Findings of the analysis of covariance showed that palliative care training was effective in promoting perceived self-efficacy. Thus, educational intervention based on palliative care approach can be used as an effective intervention in promoting perceived self-efficacy and its dimensions in nurses.