The Role Complexities in Advance Care Planning for End-of-Life Care—Nursing Students’ Perception of the Nursing Profession

Suet Ying Ng and Eliza Lai-Yi Wong
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Suet Ying Ng: Centre for Health Systems and Policy Research, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Eliza Lai-Yi Wong: Centre for Health Systems and Policy Research, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 12, 1-13

Abstract: Nurses’ perceptions of being responsible for advance care planning (ACP) vary greatly across different studies. It could, however, affect their involvement in advance care planning and patients’ quality of death. Recent studies on this topic have mostly focused on advance directives but not ACP and nurses in the ward setting. This study aimed to assess the perception of Hong Kong nursing undergraduates of the nurse’s role in advance care planning and examine its associations with knowledge, attitude, and experience. A cross-sectional 57-item survey was delivered to nursing undergraduates between June and August 2020. The chi-squared test or Fisher’s exact test were used for univariate analysis. The multiple logistic regression model was used for multivariate analysis. A total of 469 participants were assessed for eligibility; 242 of them were included in the data analysis, with a response rate of 97.6%. The majority of respondents—77.3% (95% CI: 72.0–82.6%)—perceived having a role in ACP, but large discrepancies were found between their perception of their role regarding different aspects of ACP. Participants who had a better knowledge status ( p = 0.029) or supported the use of ACP ( p < 0.001) were more likely to have a positive perception of their role in ACP. A negative correlation was found between the experience of life threat and positive role perception ( p < 0.001). Through strengthening training, the role clarity of nursing undergraduates could be achieved, maximizing their cooperation with and implementation of ACP in their future nursing career. The enhancement of end-of-life education could also be undertaken to fill nursing undergraduates’ knowledge gap in this area and change their attitudes.

Keywords: advance care planning; nursing undergraduates; palliative care; end-of-life care; advance directive; ageing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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