Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Basic Palliative Care Training for Primary Care Nurses in a Health Area in Spain: A Quasi-Experimental Study

TL;DR

A training program improved primary care nurses' ability to provide palliative care, with notable gains in communication and symptom management.

Contribution

A need-based training program for palliative care in primary care nursing was shown to be effective and cost-efficient.

Findings

Training increased nurses' application of palliative care across all clinical areas.

The percentage of nurses prepared to work with palliative patients nearly doubled.

Coping and loss care showed the lowest improvement post-training.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: The general training in palliative care (PC) offered does not meet the needs of nurses and does not usually impact their clinical practice. The aim of the present study is to analyze the efficacy of a Palliative Care training plan, created and adapted to the specific needs of primary care nurses from the Department of Health Valencia, Doctor Peset. Methods: We executed the designed training plan offered by all the nurses in the department in five sessions lasting a total of 15 h through an active teaching methodology. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test study was conducted. The efficiency of the training provided was assessed through a self-administered, validated, anonymous questionnaire (INCUE instrument). Focus groups were conducted with the coordinators of the center to qualitatively assess the results and to propose lines of improvement. Results: The specific training provided to 85 nurses increased the application of PC in all areas of clinical practice (beginning of PC, communication skills, management of symptoms and care plans, legislation, bioethics at the end of life, and coping and loss). After the training, 88.8% passed the practical portion compared to 53.2% who did so previously. The area of lower impact was coping and loss or grief care. The coordinators perceived an improvement in palliative care, indicating the creation of a care protocol as a line of improvement. The percentage of nurses who felt sufficiently or very prepared to work with palliative patients practically doubled (from 23,5% to 42,4%). Conclusions: The directed training, based on the specific needs detected, was efficient and cost-effective. The methodology used had an impact on clinical practice.