Evaluating the Impact of the End-of-Life Nursing Consortium Curricula: A Systematic Review of Assessments and Outcomes

Abstract

The End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) curricula prepare nurses to provide high-quality, evidence-based palliative care to patients with serious illness and their families. The original ELNEC program has been adapted to include nursing subspecialties and online learning modules, reaching nurses and students worldwide. This systematic literature review described the outcomes of nursing knowledge, attitudes, practice changes, and patient outcomes in studies that used ELNEC as a primary intervention. A comprehensive search was focused on literature documenting completion of ELNEC trainings and associated outcomes for nurses, nursing faculty, and nursing students. The analysis included 28 articles spanning the ELNEC curricular categories, reflecting diverse aims, designs, and data collection methods. The findings revealed significant enhancements in knowledge of palliative care among nursing students and nurses, as well as a notable positive shift in attitudes toward caring for seriously ill and dying patients. The ELNEC modules can be utilized by nurses in academic and clinical settings, across lifespan stages, to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to deliver primary palliative care to the growing population of seriously ill individuals globally. However, findings also indicate a need for studies that apply rigorous methods using valid and reliable assessment instruments aligned with nursing competencies.

Keywords: competency-based education; palliative nurse education; primary palliative care nursing.