Conhecimento dos universitários da saúde dos cuidados paliativos: estudo epidemiológico

Abstract

Introduction: Due to the increasing number of people requiring palliative treatment, developing skills in Palliative Care (PC) is essential for the education of healthcare professionals, since acquiring this knowledge changes values and qualifies them to provide PC with excellence. Objective: To evaluate healthcare undergraduate students’ knowledge about Palliative Care. Methodology: This was an observational and quantitative study conducted with 100 participants. A questionnaire was used to obtain sociodemographic data, along with the Bonn Palliative Care Knowledge Questionnaire (BPW), which assesses knowledge regarding Palliative Care, death, dying, and self-efficacy related to PC. Data were collected remotely. Results: The BPW knowledge scores demonstrated an intermediate overall performance, with a mean score of 54,78% (±14,00). However, regarding the mean self-efficacy score, the students showed high confidence in dealing with patients receiving PC. Concerning previous knowledge, students who reported knowing what PC is performed better than those who reported not knowing. No significant differences were found among undergraduate programs. Conclusion: Most students had no previous contact with Palliative Care and demonstrated differences in performance between the knowledge and self-efficacy domains, highlighting the need for greater exposure to the topic in universities, thereby contributing to the training of qualified future professionals.