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Multicenter Study
. 2020 Mar;34(3):403-412.
doi: 10.1177/0269216319866576. Epub 2019 Jul 26.

Hospice nurses request paediatric-specific educational resources and training programs to improve care for children and families in the community: Qualitative data analysis from a population-level survey

Erica C Kaye  1 , Jacob Applegarth  2 , Melanie Gattas  1 , Ashley Kiefer  1   3   4 , Jason Reynolds  5 , Kristina Zalud  6 , Justin N Baker  1
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Hospice nurses request paediatric-specific educational resources and training programs to improve care for children and families in the community: Qualitative data analysis from a population-level survey

Erica C Kaye et al. Palliat Med. 2020 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Children with serious illness who receive hospice care often interface with nurses who lack training, experience and comfort in the provision of paediatric palliative and hospice care. Hospice nurse preferences for paediatric-specific training are not well known.

Aim: To describe the types of paediatric-specific training received and educational content preferred by hospice nurses.

Design: Population-level dissemination of a cross-sectional survey with qualitative analysis of open-ended survey items.

Setting/participants: Nurses from 71 community-based hospice organizations across 3 states completed the survey.

Results: An open-ended response was provided by 278/551 (50.5%) survey respondents. A total of 55 respondents provided 58 descriptions of prior paediatric-specific training, including a formal 2-day course (n = 36; 65.5%), on-the-job education (n = 13, 23.6%), online training (n = 5, 9.1%), nursing school (n = 2, 3.6%) and paediatric advanced life support courses (n = 2, 3.6%). A total of 67 respondents described 74 hospice-led educational efforts, largely comprised of a 2-day course (n = 39; 54.2%) or provision of written materials (n = 11; 15.3%). A total of 189 respondents described 258 preferences for paediatric-specific training, with nearly half (n = 93; 49.2%) requesting 'any' or 'all' types of education and the remainder requesting education around medication use (n = 48; 25.4%), symptom assessment/management (n = 32; 16.9%), pain assessment/management (n = 28; 14.8), communication (n = 29; 15.3%) and psychosocial assessment/management (n = 28; 14.8).

Conclusions: Hospice nurses self-report inadequate exposure to educational resources and programs, in conjunction with a strong desire for increased paediatric-specific training. Identification of targetable gaps should inform the development of educational resources, policies and other supportive interventions to improve delivery of care to children and families in the community.

Keywords: Paediatrics; education; health care surveys; hospice and palliative care nursing; hospice care; nursing; palliative care; qualitative research.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Hospice nurse self-report of prior training in paediatric palliative and hospice care.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Hospice nurse self-report of training and resources related to paediatric palliative and hospice care offered by their hospice organization.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Hospice nurse preferences for training and resources related to paediatric palliative and hospice care.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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