Improving End-of-Life Communications Using Technology-Assisted Continuing Education with Interprofessional Teams

Background

One role of healthcare providers is to involve patients and their families in end-of-life communication and decision making. However, this is often a sensitive topic that providers can be uncomfortable talking about. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the use of online education to improve nurses’ and social workers’ level of comfort and capability in communicating end of life concerns with patients and their families.

Method

A test-retest design pilot study was conducted with 20 inpatient registered nurses and social workers a medical-surgical and critical care unit. Participants viewed three 1-hour Kubler Ross webinars, and before and after the intervention, participants completed surveys, designed to measure self-reported levels of comfort and capability in dealing with end-of-life care and symptom management. Participants also completed a program evaluation.

Results

Results showed that both comfort and capability increased significantly after taking the online training. Further, 90% of the participants who completed the study found the education to be “much” or “a great deal” helpful in enhancing their skills, strategy, and performance.

Implications

This study highlights online continuing education as an effective and useful tool to improve the comfort and capability of nurses and social workers. End-of-life conversations can be uncomfortable but online education could provide one avenue to increase provider comfort and capability, potentially improving patient outcomes and quality of care.

Citations

Gullatte, M. M., Allen, C. S., Botheroyd, E., Hess, J. G. J., Higgins, M., Meneghetti, J., . . . Salmon, N. (2019). Improving end-of-life communication using technology-assisted continuing education with interprofessional teams. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 35(1), 25-31. doi:10.1097/NND.0000000000000514