Educational intervention for nursing professionals on palliative care: quasi-experimental study

OBJECTIVE: to assess nursing professionals› knowledge and self-efficacy regarding palliative care before and after an educational intervention. METHOD: a quasi-experimental study conducted in a teaching hospital with nursing professionals who care for adults and the elderly. Data collection was performed at two times: first, a sociodemographic questionnaire and the Bonn Palliative Care Knowledge Test, which assesses knowledge and self-efficacy in palliative care, were administered; immediately afterward, an educational intervention on the topic was conducted. Four weeks later, the instrument that assesses knowledge and self-efficacy was reapplied. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.0. RESULTS: 179 professionals participated, with an average age of 40.17 years and a predominance of females. The knowledge score obtained higher averages after the intervention (pre-test=11.77; post-test=15.03), while the self-efficacy score was lower (pre-test=3.21; post-test=3.38), but both were statistically significant (p<0.01). CONCLUSION: the educational intervention was effective in increasing knowledge and self-efficacy in palliative care among nursing professionals. These results may support the development and dissemination of palliative care practices in health services.