The Attitude of Nurses of PHC Organizations to the Care of Dying Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Patients with incurable progressive diseases and conditions suffer from complex symptoms, requiring continuous nursing care, which, in turn, can be associated with emotional burnout of nurses in the workplace. Analysis of the available world and local literature in most cases shows us the negative attitude of nurses to palliative care, lack of understanding of its principles, lack of adequate emotional support for nurses caring for incurable patients and their families from the health care organizers. In Kazakhstan, little attention is paid to improving the attitude of nurses to the care of the dying, which could help to increase the preparedness of nurses to meet the growing needs of patients for quality care at the end of life. It should be noted the important role of nurses in ensuring universal access to palliative care, especially at the primary health care.
The purpose of this study: To determine the attitude of nurses working in PHC towards caring for dying patients.
Methods. An observational descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 565 nurses working in PHC in the city of Astana. The survey was conducted between January and December 2022 using a specialized questionnaire (The Frommelt Attitudes Towards Care of the Dying (FATCOD)).
Results. The average score for all FATCOD respondents was 94.5 points. A third of the nurses surveyed (34%) have a negative attitude
towards caring for dying patients, and only 6.7% of respondents have a positive attitude towards it. The majority of nurses (59.3%) showed a neutral attitude to the care of dying patients. The overall average score of the FATCOD test is usually higher for those nurses who have higher work experience, age, level of education, and have attended palliative care training in the past. However, no significant differences were found between gender and attitude to the care of dying patients (p=0.164).
Conclusions. The results show that nurses have a neutral or negative attitude towards caring for dying patients. The level of education, extensive work experience, age and training in palliative care can change the attitude of nurses to caring for dying patients in a positive way.