Conhecimento e práticas de estudantes de Enfermagem acerca da atuação em cuidados paliativos

Abstract

Palliative care aims to improve the quality of life of patients and their families when faced with a life-threatening illness. Its teaching is generally not addressed during undergraduate courses, meaning that nursing students only have contact with the topic during practical activities in the hospital context provided in the course curriculum. To evaluate the knowledge of nursing students regarding their role in caring for patients in palliative care. Cross-sectional study, carried out with students from a public university in Bahia, from October to November 2024, applied via Google Forms, using an instrument developed to collect sociodemographic and academic data and the questionnaire “Knowledge in Palliative Care in Nursing” (CCPENF), an instrument developed and validated to assess nurses' knowledge and practices about palliative care through three domains: concepts, foundations, principles, and indications in palliative care; symptom control and communication; and procedures in palliative care. The overall score and the three domains of the instrument, obtained through responses to the Likert scale, were classified into scores. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26.0. 56 students participated in the study, most of whom were female (82.1%), with a median age of 26 years (IQR 04 years), black and brown (66.1%), single (67.9%), practitioners of religions based on Christianity (62.5%) and who had no previous higher education (67.9%). The students (57.1%) indicated that the topic, palliative care, was included in mandatory components (53.1%). The self-assessment of knowledge was rated “good” (46.4%), there was a slight predominance among those who felt prepared to work in palliative care (51.8%), and 33 students (58.9%) reported having contact with patients in palliative care during practical field activities. The assessment of knowledge and practices through analysis of the instrument had an overall performance considered “good” (66.1%). In domain 1, 55.4% of the students had an “excellent” performance; in domain 2, the majority of students had a “good” rating (64.3%); in domain 3, there was a greater balance between “good” and “regular” ratings, with emphasis on the presence of a “bad” rating in 3.6% of students. The students presented a level of knowledge considered “good”, although they presented knowledge gaps regarding symptom control, communication and procedures in palliative care, evidencing a weakness in the training of nursing professionals to work in palliative care. Those who showed interest in the topic presented a greater self-assessment, perception of preparation to care and a better performance in the assessment of the domains of the CCPENF instrument.