Instrument Development: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Confidence in Palliative Care Concepts Held by Trauma and Neuroscience Intensive Care Nurses

Background and PurposeUnique pressures impact trauma intensive care unit (TICU) nurses in their provision of care for severely injured patients. When it becomes clinically obvious that these patients may not survive, TICU nurses must continue life-saving measures while at the same time consider a palliative care consultation. In order to facilitate this referral, TICU nurses need to have the appropriate knowledge, attitude, and confidence in doing so. The purpose of this study is to refine an instrument that aims to support this process.MethodsA convenience sample of 42 respondents completed the Knowledge, Attitudinal, and Experiential Survey on Advance Directive (KAESAD).ResultsDomains with the highest Cronbach’s alpha value were “professional attitudes” (α = .995) and “clinical experiences” (α = .999).ConclusionsReliability assessments suggest that most domains of the instrument have strong internal consistency, and with a larger sample size, future studies may elucidate how nurse educators can use this instrument to target areas for continuing education.