Knowledge, Attitudes, and Self-Efficacy of Towards Palliative Care in Indonesian Pre-Registration Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional and Multicenter Study

Abstract

Introduction: Palliative care education at the undergraduate level offers nursing students a solid foundation for clinical practice. Knowledge, support, and skilled nurses are essential when caring for patients with life-limiting conditions and their families. Current palliative care education focuses mainly on academic learning with limited clinical learning. This study aimed to identify knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy towards palliative and end-of-life care among nursing students who received palliative care education at three undergraduate nurse training institutions in Indonesia. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized non-probability sampling to recruit 152 respondents from Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Jember nursing schools. Three instruments were used for data collection: the Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing (PCQN), the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying (FATCOD-B), and the Self-Efficacy in Palliative Care (SPEC) scale. The data was analyzed using the Spearman correlation. Results: Findings suggest that all students have positive attitudes towards death and caring for dying patients. However, over half of the students demonstrated low knowledge and self-efficacy (52%). Such deficiencies can lead to suboptimal care for those at the end of life. Conclusion: Palliative care education should be taught theoretically in the classroom and incorporated into clinical internships to strengthen students' self-efficacy and clinical skills. The current palliative care nursing curriculum in Indonesia needs to be modified to address this gap.