Nurses' symptom management and views on death and caring for heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

Background: The number of older adult patients in Japan is increasing and symptom management is needed not only for cancer patients, but also non-cancer patients. Aims: This study investigated nurses' symptom management and their views on death and caring for heart failure (HF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods: A cross-sectional survey using a questionnaire was conducted. Survey items were implementation of assessment and non-pharmacological interventions for 14 symptoms at the end-of-life stage, participation in palliative care training courses and attitude toward death and caring, as assessed by the Frommelt attitude toward care of the dying (FATCOD) Scale. Results: A total of 266 (78.5%) nurses responded. More than 90% implemented symptom assessment of dyspnea and cough for both HF and COPD. The mean FATCOD score was 114.7, participation in on-the-job palliative care training courses (p<0.01), and difficulty with near-death issues (p<0.01) were significantly associated with the FATCOD. Conclusion: These results suggest that nurses assessed the major symptoms of HF and COPD. Training courses are important to promote palliative care for non-cancer patients.