Palliative care knowledge, attitudes and perceived self-competence of nurses working in Vietnam

Aim: To explore palliative care knowledge, attitudes and perceived self-competence of nurses working in oncology settings in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Method: The study employed a cross-sectional descriptive survey design. The self-administered questionnaires consisted of three validated instruments: the Expertise and Insight Test for Palliative Care, the Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Scale B and the Palliative Care Nursing Self Competence Scale. The sample consisted of 251 nurses caring for cancer patients in three oncology hospitals in Vietnam.

Results: The responses identified low scores in nurses' palliative care knowledge related to pain and other symptom management and psychological and spiritual aspects. Nurses' responses reflected discomfort in communicating about death and establishing therapeutic relationship with oncology patients who require palliative care. Additionally, nurses reported low scores in perceived self-competence when providing pain management and addressing social and spiritual domains of palliative care. The findings also revealed that nurses who had higher palliative care knowledge scores demonstrated attitudes which were more positive and expressed greater perceived self-competence.

Conclusion: Nurses working in oncology wards need more education to develop their knowledge and skills of palliative care, especially in the areas of pain management, psychological and spiritual care, and communication.