Awareness and Attitude of Nurses in Regard to Providing Hospice Care

Abstract

Background: Awareness and attitudes of nurses regarding end of life care are important factors in providinghospice care. In an extensive literature review, we found no related articles investigating Iranian nurses awarenessand attitudes about providing such care.
Objectives: The aims of this study were to investigate the awareness andattitudes of Iranian nurses in providing hospice care. Materials and
Methods: In this descriptive-correlationalstudy, 240 nurses employed in six educational centers were selected by non-randomized stratified sampling.The data collection instruments included an awareness test and attitudes regarding providing end of life carein hospice questionnaire. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent sample t-tests,one-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation tests.
Results: The nurses’ awareness score was 14.3 out of 29 and55.7% of them stated that they had not received any education in providing end of life care. Also, by obtainingthe score of 91.7 out of 120 the attitudes of participants in providing end of life care in hospices were positive. Inaddition, the highest attitudes score of nurses were in the dimensions of benefits of implementation and healthcare team.
Conclusions: Considering low awareness of nurses about end of life care in hospices, continuingeducation should be provided for them in this regard. Especially, by considering the positive attitude of nurses,providing such programs could help develop hospice care in Iran.

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