Attitudes of nurses towards care of the dying patient in India.

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, end-of-life care is coming under increasing scrutiny as nurses struggle to balance cultural norms and legal requirements with the desires of patients and families. The purpose of this descriptive pilot study was to examine and describe nurses' attitudes when caring for dying patients in India, and whether participation in an educational conference, which included two scenario-based, low-fidelity simulations increased knowledge of end-of-life care.

METHOD: Participants' attitudes were measured with the 30-item Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying (FATCOD-B) scale. Knowledge was measured with a researcher-developed 15-item content-focused test before and after the conference.

RESULTS: The mean attitude scores of nurses (n=101) were M=101.45 (range 65-143, SD=15.99). Participation in the educational conference and end-of-life care simulations increased the knowledge of most nurses (P<0.05).

CONCLUSION: Conferences and low-fidelity simulation are effective methods for improving nurses' knowledge of end-of-life care in India. Improved education surrounding end of life may positively affect attitudes.