Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Nursing

Advisor

Kelly Fisher

Abstract

AbstractThe responsibility for educating U.S. nursing students on end-of-life (EOL) care concepts lies with prelicensure nursing programs; however, the majority of all prelicensure nursing programs offer only a few lectures, and only a small percentage offer EOL and palliative care courses. The lack of education on EOL care results in greater stress for nurses, poor symptom management for patients, and reduced support for family caregivers. There is limited knowledge on why primary EOL education has not yet been adopted by many Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) programs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of ADN faculty regarding the inclusion of EOL care content within prelicensure nursing curricula. Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior was the framework used to explore the perceptions of prelicensure nursing faculty. In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 full-time ADN faculty who were currently working in an ADN program and who had at least 2 years of didactic teaching experience in an ADN program. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Thematic coding was used to analyze the data. The key findings were that EOL care education is important for nurses in all areas of practice, but a primary EOL care course is not necessary in ADN curricula. However, removing barriers to allow for the inclusion of a primary EOL care course in ADN curricula may still benefit nursing students, nursing professionals, patients, and family caregivers. Positive social change may result from reduced stress and greater self-efficacy for nurses, improved symptom management and more prompt hospice referrals for patients and needed education and support for family caregivers.

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