Effectiveness of lecture-simulation-combined palliative care course to improve nursing students' knowledge, attitude and coping

Palliative care education for undergraduate nursing students varies in hours, methods, and contents worldwide. This study aimed to examine the nursing students' changes in palliative care knowledge, attitude, and coping with death after 18 hours of lecture-simulation-combined palliative care course. The study adopted a quasi-experiment method by one-group pre-posttest design. The palliative care course was composed of 2-hour of lecture, 10-hour of lecture-simulation-combined terminal symptoms learning, and 6-hour of simulation scenario practice. Students' knowledge was measured with Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing, students' attitude was measured with Frommelt Attitude towards Care of the Dying, and students' coping with death was measured with Coping with Death Scale before and after the palliative care course. There were 52 nursing undergraduate students participated in this study. The higher mean score of Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing, Frommelt Attitude towards Care of the Dying, and Coping with Death Scale gained after the course indicated students' improved knowledge, attitude, and coping (P<0.05). Results from multiple regression analysis showed that knowledge and attitude had statistically significant impacts on students' coping with death (P<0.05). The palliative care course combining lectures with simulation-based learning could improve nursing students' palliative care knowledge, attitude, and coping strategies. Nursing educators can improve nursing students' coping with death by enriching their knowledge and improving their attitude.