Level of knowledge and attitudes towards palliative care for people with advanced dementia in Spain: role of professional and academic factors

Pilar Pérez-Ros; Omar Cauli; Iván Julián-Rochina; Carol O Long; Elena Chover-Sierra

doi:10.2174/1567205020666221221145259

Level of knowledge and attitudes towards palliative care for people with advanced dementia in Spain: role of professional and academic factors

Curr Alzheimer Res. 2022 Dec 21. doi: 10.2174/1567205020666221221145259. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Pilar Pérez-Ros^{1

2}, Omar Cauli^{1

2}, Iván Julián-Rochina^{1

2}, Carol O Long³, Elena Chover-Sierra^{1

4

3}

Affiliations

¹ Nursing Department, Facultat d'Infermeria i Podologia, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
² Frailty Research Organized Group (FROG), University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
³ Nursing Care and Education Research Group (GRIECE), University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
⁴ Palliative Care Essentials, Fredericksburg, Virginia, USA.

PMID: 36545733
DOI: 10.2174/1567205020666221221145259

Abstract

Background: Providing quality end-of-life care to individuals with advanced dementia is crucial. To date, little attention has been paid to palliative care knowledge and attitudes toward palliative care for people with advanced dementia in Spain Objectives: To investigate the knowledge of and attitudes toward palliative care for advanced dementia among registered nurses and physicians in Spain.

Design and methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional survey design was used. This study included a convenience sample of 402 nurses (n = 290) and physicians (n = 112). Two instruments were administered: demographic characteristics and Spanish version of the Questionnaire of Palliative Care for Advanced Dementia (qPAD-SV). Descriptive statistics and multiple regression were used for data analysis.

Results: Overall, the nurses and physicians had moderate mean scores for both knowledge of and attitudes regarding palliative care for advanced dementia. Physicians had a higher level of knowledge (p<0.05) compared to nurses. Additionally, physicians and nursing staff who had professional experience/education in geriatrics and those who had received palliative care and hospice training had greater (p<0.01) knowledge of palliative care. In addition, healthcare professionals who had received dementia care training and who had worked in nursing homes had higher levels (p<0.05) of knowledge and attitudes toward palliative care.

Conclusion: This study indicates the need to provide nurses and physicians with more education for select groups of professionals who have had limited education and experience in caring for older adults with advanced dementia.

Keywords: Attitudes; Education; Palliative care; Specialist nurse; Training.