Palliative Care e-Learning for Physicians Caring for Critically Ill and Dying Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Outcome Evaluation with Self-Assessed Knowledge and Attitude

Jacqueline Schwartz, Manuela Schallenburger, Theresa Tenge (), Yann-Nicolas Batzler, Daniel Schlieper, Detlef Kindgen-Milles, Stefan Meier, Günter Niegisch, André Karger, Christoph Roderburg and Martin Neukirchen
Additional contact information
Jacqueline Schwartz: Interdisciplinary Center for Palliative Medicine, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
Manuela Schallenburger: Interdisciplinary Center for Palliative Medicine, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
Theresa Tenge: Interdisciplinary Center for Palliative Medicine, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
Yann-Nicolas Batzler: Interdisciplinary Center for Palliative Medicine, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
Daniel Schlieper: Interdisciplinary Center for Palliative Medicine, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
Detlef Kindgen-Milles: Department of Anesthesiology, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
Stefan Meier: Department of Anesthesiology, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
Günter Niegisch: Department of Urology, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
André Karger: Institute for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
Christoph Roderburg: Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany
Martin Neukirchen: Interdisciplinary Center for Palliative Medicine, University Hospital Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Duesseldorf, 40225 Duesseldorf, Germany

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 19, 1-10

Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the care of critically ill and dying patients in isolation wards, intensive care units (ICUs), and regular wards was severely impaired. In order to support physicians in communicative and palliative care skills, an e-learning tool was developed as part of the joint project “Palliative Care in Pandemic Times” (PallPan). This study investigates the feasibility of this e-learning tool. Secondly, we aim to analyze changes in knowledge and attitude upon completion of the e-learning tool. A 38-item questionnaire-based evaluation study with assessment of global and specific outcomes including ICU and non-ICU physicians was performed. In total, 24 questionnaires were included in the anonymous analysis. Feasibility was confirmed by a very high rate of overall satisfaction (94% approval), with relevance reaching 99% approval. Overall, we detected high gains in knowledge and noticeably lower gains on the attitude plane, with the highest gain in naming reasons for incorporating palliative care. The lowest learning gain on the attitude plane was observed when the participants were confronted with their own mortality. This study shows that e-learning is a feasible tool for gaining knowledge and even changing the attitudes of physicians caring for critically ill and dying patients in a self-assessment evaluation.

Keywords: palliative care; e-learning; education and training; symptom management; COVID-19; end-of-life care (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/19/12377/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/19/12377/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:19:p:12377-:d:928358

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().