“How Do I Practise Palliative Care When I Don’t Know How?” Exploring the Impact of EPAN, An Online Educational Intervention on General Nurses in Singapore: An Evaluation Study

Abstract

Objective(s): The majority of deaths in Singapore (62.1%) occur in the hospital, but most nurses do not have palliative care (PC) education. An online e-learning course, “Essential Palliative Care Approach for Nurses” (EPAN), was developed to close the learning gap. The study aimed to evaluate the impact of EPAN on general nurses’ knowledge, confidence, and attitude in delivering end-of-life care. Methods: Convergent parallel mixed methods design. Results: 1708 nurses (67%), mostly from inpatient and ambulatory settings, completed EPAN. Statistically significant increases in mean scores across knowledge, confidence, and attitude (p < 0.05) remained consistent immediately post-course and 3 months post-course. Respondents shared their intentions to change practice in the immediate post-course survey (n = 1155) and how they have practiced end-of-life care in the 3-month post-course survey (n = 777). Major categories from the content analysis included: (i) actualise confidence to deliver effective communication, (ii) making time and showing empathy in end-of-life care, (iii) advocating for end-of-life care, (iv) proactive collaboration with other healthcare professionals, (v) navigated and accepted end-of-life boundaries, and (vi) able to self-manage emotions. Conclusions: EPAN, developed within an Asian context, has demonstrated a significant impact on nurses’ knowledge, confidence, and attitude in delivering end-of-life care. This has broader implications for general palliative care education in countries of similar cultural concerns.