Korean J Hosp Palliat Care.  2018 Mar;21(1):33-39. 10.14475/kjhpc.2018.21.1.33.

The Effects of the Hospice & Palliative Care Education Program for Caregivers

• Choi GH
• Kwon SH

• KMID: 2406850
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14475/kjhpc.2018.21.1.33

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study aimed to identify how an education program on palliative care affects nursing home caregivers' perception of hospice care and attitude towards terminally ill patient care.
METHODS
This study was conducted using a nonequivalent control group with a pretest-posttest design. The participants were 101 certified care workers: 58 in the experimental group and 43 in the control. The experimental group completed the palliative care education program consisted of 20 hours of classroom training and 20 hours of clinical practicum. An ANCOVA was performed to compare the score changes to outcome variables.
RESULTS
Compared with the control group, the experimental group showed significant pretest-posttest differences in both the perception of hospice care (F=21.09, P < 0.001) and attitude towards caring for terminally ill patients (F=13.28, P < 0.001).
CONCLUSION
These results indicate that the palliative care education program for caregivers is effective in preparing participants to provide hospice/palliative care service. Further study is warranted to explore the effects of this program on palliative caregivers' performance.

Keyword

Hospice care; Nurses' aides; Education; Perception; Attitude to death

MeSH Terms

Attitude to Death
Caregivers*
Education*
Hospice Care
Hospices*
Humans
Nurses' Aides
Nursing Homes
Palliative Care*
Patient Care
Preceptorship
Terminally Ill