Attitudes and knowledge of palliative care of Chinese undergraduate nursing students: A multicenter cross-sectional study

Helping patients and families to relieve severe pain and manage grief are issues that palliative care is designed to address, but integrating these topics in nursing education and practice requires increased attention. It is necessary to understand the knowledge and attitudes of nursing students to develop a targeted approach toward integrating palliative care in practice settings. To investigate attitudes and knowledge toward palliative care among undergraduate nursing students in China and to explore correlations and associated factors. A cross-sectional study. Seven comprehensive universities in China. A total of 582 undergraduate nursing students participated. Online questionnaires were available from December 2020 to February 2021. The Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Scale and the Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing were used to measure students' attitude and knowledge of palliative care. Descriptive and correlational methods were used to analyse the associated factors and their correlation with knowledge and attitudes. Attitude scores showed significant differences in gender, education level, religious preference, previous education in palliative care, experience in caring for dying patients and previous experience with bereavement. Knowledge of palliative care was influenced by gender, religious preference, prior education in palliative care, experience in caring for dying patients, and previous experience with bereavement. A positive correlation exists between knowledge and attitudes toward palliative care among undergraduate nursing students. The findings highlight the need to offer palliative care courses in nursing education and practice settings in Chinese health care settings. Nurse educators need to integrate the concept of palliative care into the curriculum of nursing education programs. Healthcare administrators and nurse leaders should promote investment and training in the education of nurses in practice settings to deliver high-quality palliative care services. •Undergraduate nursing students in China lacked knowledge of and held a neutral attitude towards palliative care.•There was a positive correlation between their scores on attitudes and knowledge.•Nurse educators need to integrate the concept of palliative care into the curriculum of nursing education programs.•Nurse leaders in practice settings should increase investment in training to develop high-quality palliative care teams.