Palliative care training helps nurses cope with death anxieties

Nurses who participate in end-of-life educational programs experience decreased anxiety as a result, new research findings suggest. However, the benefit seems to wane over time, suggesting that such programs should be repeated to maximize nurses’ ability to deal with dying patients and their families.

Nurses who participate in end-of-life educational programs experience decreased anxiety as a result, new research findings suggest. However, the benefit seems to wane over time, suggesting that such programs should be repeated to maximize nurses’ ability to deal with dying patients and their families.Dr. Jane M. Kurz, from Temple University in Philadelphia, and Dr. Evelyn R. Hayes, at the University of Delaware in Newark, tested nurses who had participated in a 3-day End-of-Life Educational Program. They presented their findings at the Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Research Congress in Dublin, Ireland.”Nurses have been saying that they don’t feel well prepared for dealing with patients who are dying and their families,” Dr. Kurz told Reuters Health. While programs have been developed to address these issues, “we don’t know if they are effective.”Their study included 26 nurses who participated in the program, then completed the Revised Death Anxiety Scale; 15 were retested at 6 months and 11 again at 12 months.A control group included 34 nurses tested at baseline, 22 of whom were retested at 6 months and 16 at 12 months. Testing at baseline showed similar levels of anxiety in the two groups, but significantly less anxiety thereafter in the subjects who underwent the training.However, immediately after the intervention, “nurses’ death anxiety was elevated slightly higher than it was” at baseline, Dr. Kurz noted. Thus, the program should probably not be evaluated during the period immediately after the intervention, she said.”Six months later their death anxiety was reduced,” Dr. Kurz added, suggesting the intervention was effective – “the nurses felt they were better prepared to care for those who are dying.”At 12 months, their death anxiety was no less than it had been at baseline, which suggests that a one-time intervention is not enough, Dr. Kurz added. “You need to repeat the intervention” to achieve maximum benefit.(Source: Reuters Health: Oncolink: July 2004)