Palliative care practices among nurses at Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Ghana: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: In the past decade, the number of people living with life-threatening diseases has increased. However, these people need to live their remaining life as meaningful as possible, even when they are at the end stage and may have a few months to live. Objectives: This study sought to examine the practices of palliative care (PC) among nurses at Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH). Method: The study employed an analytical cross-sectional design. The instrument used for the study was a questionnaire and 215 respondents were randomly selected. Frequency counts and percentages, means and standard deviations, one sample t-test as well a Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (r) was employed in the analysis. Results: The results of the study showed that the nurses at CCTH have good knowledge of palliative care (M = 17.4, SD = 0.91). They also have a favorable attitude towards PC. Again, the study found that nurses at CCTH practice PC. The study also revealed a statistically significant, low positive correlation (r = 0.146, p = 0.041) between nurses' knowledge and practice; and between knowledge and attitude (r = 0.313, p < 0.001). More so, nurses perceived poor funding and inadequate education as the key barriers to PC practices at the CCTH. Conclusion: These findings provide the nurse with a meaningful understanding of nurse attitudes and practices towards PC. The study, therefore, recommends that authorities at CCTH should focus on continuous in-service training as well as encouraging nurses to continually sustain a favorable attitude towards the terminally ill patients who requires PC services.

Keywords

• Attitude
• Cape Coast Teaching Hospital
• End-of-life care
• Knowledge
• Nurses
• Palliative care