Effectiveness of a palliative care course on attitude of nursing students towards care of dying patients: an Indian perspective

Background & aim: The attitude of nursing students towards the care of dying patients is a crucial aspect of their education and professional development. This attitude can significantly impact the quality of care provided to patients at the end of life. Inclusion of palliative care and end-of-life care in the nursing curriculum positively influences students' attitudes. The aim of this study was to examine nursing students’ attitudes towards care of dying patients before and after a course in palliative care. Methods: This study was an evaluative, quantitative, cross-sectional study in which participants (n=102) were selected via random sampling. The Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of Dying Scale (FATCOD) was used to assess nursing students’ attitudes during their education. Nursing students enrolled in a mandatory palliative course in the nursing programme at Rajiv Gandhi University of Health University (RGUHS) were the samples. Ethics approval was obtained from Institution Review Board. Data from FATCOD was analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics. Results: The participants’ age ranged from 16 to 31 years, with an average age of 19.84 ± 2.540 years. Moreover, most respondents (92.2%) identified as female. Approximately half (52.9%) reported no prior exposure to information on end-of-life care, and the majority (81.4%) had not attended any seminars, workshops, or conferences on the topic. The results indicated that participants' attitude notably enhanced following the palliative care course (M = 107.89, SD = 11.913), compared to their baseline (M = 100.80, SD = 10.435), t (101) = 4.903, p < 0.001.There is no significant difference in attitude between females (M = 108.96, SD = 12.157) and males (M = 101.25, SD = 6.228), t (100)=-1.768, P=.080. Similarly, individuals with prior awareness (M = 110.38, SD = 13.417) did not demonstrate a significantly higher attitude than those without (M = 106.56, SD = 10.229), t (100) =1.622, P=.108. Similarly, prior exposure to palliative care neither increased (M = 108.00, SD = 12.649) nor decreased (M = 108.43, SD = 11.879) respondents' attitudes significantly, t (100) =-.142, p=.887. Age of the respondents and the attitude were not significantly correlated, r (105) = .041, p = .686. Conclusions: This study aimed to test the effectiveness of a Palliative Care course in enhancing the attitudes of nursing students towards care of dying patients. The finding of this study will help serve as baseline data for policy makers and programmers to develop comprehensive course on attitude towards dying patients among the University nursing students.