Effect of the end-of-life care education program on improving oncology nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors: A quasi-experimental study

Education can strengthen nurses' capabilities in end-of-life care. Existing training programs have shortcomings such as monotonous content, unsatisfactory intervention effects, and limitations in research design. This single-center, quasi-experimental study aimed to analyze the effectiveness of an educational program based on the supportive care strategy list for end-of-life cancer patients in improving oncology nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Participants from a tertiary cancer hospital in Beijing were allocated into a training group and a non-training group (N1 = N2=27) using matched-pair sampling. The non-training group received no intervention, while the training group underwent an 18-class (45–60 min per class), 7-week education. At the 8-month follow-up, post-intervention assessments showed that the training group demonstrated significantly better knowledge and attitudes than the non-training group ( p < 0.05). Intra-group comparisons showed the training group exhibited superior knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors than at baseline ( p < 0.05). The end-of-life care education program effectively enhanced oncology nurses' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.