Knowledge and Attitude towards Palliative Care among Nursing Students in Imphal West

Abstract

                     Abstract
Context: Palliative care increases comfort by lessening pain, controlling symptoms and lessening stress for the
patient and family.Having adequate knowledge with proper attitude and practice among nurses is crucial to
establish a good palliative care service.
Aims: Hence the study has been contemplated which aims at identifying the level of knowledge and attitude of
nursing students.
Methods: A self-administered questionnaire containing a validated instrument ‘Palliative care quiz for nursing
(PCQN) was use. A stratified two-stage cluster sampling design with a probability proportionate to size was
used. Data was collected from 430 students and entered in IBM SPSS version 21. Results were summarised using
descriptive statistics. Chi-square test was used to see the significant difference between proportions.
Results: Knowledge was inadequate in 60.2% of the nursing students while 82.1% showed favourable attitude.
There was significant association between academic year and knowledge for BSc nursing and FHW/ANM
students. Knowledge was significantly associated with training received and attitude
Conclusion: Knowledge was inadequate in three-fifth of the nursing students while majority of them more than
four-fifth showed favourable attitude. There was significant association between academic year and knowledge
for BSc nursing and FHW/ANM students.Knowledge was significantly associated with training received and
attitude.