Nurses' knowledge about palliative care: A cross-sectional survey

Insufficient knowledge of palliative care among nurses is well documented and is considered one of the main obstacles to providing high-quality palliative care services. Thus, this study aims to evaluate Jordanian registered nurses' knowledge about palliative care. A quantitative research method and a descriptive cross-sectional survey design were used. The sample consisted of 190 registered nurses working in 5 Jordanian government hospitals. Most participants were male (54%) and younger than 30 years (59%). They were working in surgical (32%), medical (28%), and critical care (22%) units. The total mean score of palliative knowledge was low at 8.3 (SD, 2.8), ranging from 0 to 15. The findings of the study demonstrate that nurses have insufficient knowledge about the essence, philosophy, and principles of palliative care. This study shows that nurses have insufficient knowledge and misconceptions about palliative care. Hence, basic education is needed for all nurses working in government hospitals. This education needs to be comprehensive to cover the basic principles of palliative care and symptom management. In addition, it should address the misconceptions identified in this study.