Factors affecting senior nursing students’ willingness to palliative care

Abstract

Purpose: This study was conducted to identify the level of senior nursing students’ knowledge about palliative care, meaning of life, and willingness to palliative care and to identify factors affecting their willingness to palliative care.Methods: Data were collected from 192 senior nursing students at six nursing schools in four cities in Korea from December 8, 2022 to January 5, 2023. Descriptive statistics, an independent t-test, Pearson’s correlation, and multiple linear regression test were used to analyze the data.Results: The mean±standard deviation score of knowledge about palliative care and meaning of life were 8.44±2.20 and 146.48±19.32. Factors affecting senior nursing students’ willingness to palliative care were the knowledge about palliative care (β=.18, <i>p</i>=.005), meaning of life (β=.36, <i>p</i><.001), and motivation for admission into a nursing school based on aptitude and interest (β=.16, <i>p</i>=.020).Conclusion: It is necessary to develop a nursing education program for enhancing knowledge about palliative care and meaning of life to prepare the palliative care competency of nursing students.