Effectiveness of “Palliative Care Information Booklet” in Enhancing Nurses’ Knowledge

CONTEXT: Patients diagnosed with a disease like cancer require not only physical control of disease but also they need psychological reassurance, social and spiritual support in coming to terms with their disease. Nurses working in the specialized cancer hospitals play a significant role in the care of terminally ill patients. They must be knowledgeable, skilled and sensitive to the needs of these patients and their families in order to provide active, holistic care. AIMS: In this study, we attempted to assess the level of knowledge about palliative care among nurses working in the oncology department using a self administered structured questionnaire and also to assess the effectiveness of information booklet designed on various aspects of palliative care on their knowledge. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Indo American Cancer Hospital, Hyderabad, AP, India. The design adopted for this study was One Group pretest – posttest, pre - experimental design. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Hundred nurses working in Indo American Cancer Hospital, Hyderabad, AP, India were selected by using the non probability purposive sampling technique. A structured self administered questionnaire was prepared and administered as a pretest. An information booklet was developed pertaining to the general concepts of palliative care, care components (physical, social, emotional and spiritual) and role of the nurse in palliative care and it was given to the participants. As a post test, the same questionnaire was re-administered after four days to the same study subjects. Pretest and post test knowledge scores were compared and the findings were analyzed statistically. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Microsoft Excel and Statistical Package for Social Science package. RESULTS: The post test scores were significantly higher than the pretest knowledge scores, which indicate that the developed information booklet regarding palliative care was highly effective in enhancing the knowledge levels of the nurses. CONCLUSIONS: The information booklet was effective in enriching the knowledge of nurses on palliative care. Enhancing the nurse’s knowledge about palliative care will promote their understanding of the needs of the advanced stage patients and will enable them to provide quality care.