Assessment of Knowledge and Associated Factors towards Palliative Care among Greek Nurses

Abstract

Introduction: Nurses can have a prominent role in end-of-life care. They should however have the appropriate knowledge and practice about Palliative Care (PC) in order to provide high quality of care at the end of life of for chronically sick patients.

Methods: A cross sectional quantitative study and analysis was carried through a validated questionnaire tool based on the Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing (PCQN). The study included 150 nurses working in a major public hospital in Greece.

Results: The majority of nurses in Greece had poor knowledge about PC reaching a 8.9 PCQN overall score out of 20. The findings from this study confirmed the association of gender, age, work experience and level of education on nurses' knowledge about PC.

Conclusions: There is a lack of proper training and there are very few healthcare units specializing in PC provision in Greece. Special programs for PC are required in order to enhance nurses' knowledge and attitude towards good PC practices.