A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Educational Intervention on Knowledge Regarding Palliative Care Among Nursing Students in Selected Nursing College of Kashmir

Abstract

Palliative care is a relatively new specialization, having been reintroduced in 1967. Palliative care, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is a method that improves patients' and their families' quality of life by concentrating on symptom avoidance and relief. Suffering is alleviated via early detection, precise evaluation, and treatment of physical, psychological, and spiritual pain and associated disorders. While cancer patients continue to be the most common recipients of palliative care, people with chronic, progressive illnesses that will eventually lead to death are increasingly recognizing the need for the same type of palliative care. A quantitative evaluative research approach with non-experimental research design, one group pre-test and post-test study was carried out on 60 students of the second and third years of the Bachelor of Science in nursing programme at Syed Mantaqui Memorial College of Nursing and Medical Technology in Awantipora, Kashmir. Students who declined to participate or were absent throughout the data collecting period were omitted. The convenience sampling method was used to choose the sample for the current inquiry. The knowledge of palliative care was evaluated using a standardised questionnaire, "The Palliative Care Knowledge Test", as part of a pre-test assessment followed by a structured instruction programme and a post-test evaluation. The gathered data were examined and interpreted in light of the study's goals. This pre-test scores shows that 47(78.3%) had inadequate knowledge score ranging from (0–7) while 13(21.7%) had intermediateknowledge while 0(0%) had little knowledge. Post-test scores revealed that 4(6.7%) of students had inadequate knowledge, 14(23.3%) demonstrated intermediate knowledge, whereas 42(70%) demonstrated sufficient understanding. The study revealed that the structured teaching programme given to the study subjects was very informative and that helped the study subjects in improving their knowledge related to palliative care.