Palliative Care Conversations for Heart Failure Nurses: A Pilot Education Intervention

Introduction Heart failure is a progressive condition affecting 6.2 million Americans. The use of palliative and supportive care for symptom management and improved quality of life is recommended for persons with heart failure. However, 91% of nurses believe they need further training to have palliative care conversations. The purpose of this pilot education intervention was to determine if providing nurses with education on the timing and content of palliative care conversations would improve their perceived skill and knowledge. Methods This was a pilot study of an online educational intervention. Data were electronically collected from 13 participants using validated questionnaires delivered via Qualtrics. Participants completed a demographic survey and End-of-Life Professional Caregiver Survey (EPCS) before and after completing an online, asynchronous education module. Results Mean scores were higher on all posttest measures. Independent samples t-tests revealed statistically significant differences on the Effective Care Delivery (ECD) scale ( t[32] = −2, p = .05) and total EPCS scale scores ( t[32] = −2.2, p = .03) from pre- to posttest. Conclusion Scores increased on all dimensions pretest to posttest with statistically significant differences in ECD and total scores. Providing asynchronous online education on timing and content of palliative care conversations to nurses caring for people with heart failure is a feasible and effective way to improve perceived knowledge and skill of palliative care conversations.

Potential Augmented Reality Application Areas for Pilot Education: An Exploratory Study

The goal of carrying out this work was to identify potential application areas for augmented reality (AR) in pilot education by addressing gender preferences. Like the field of engineering, the aviation industry is dominated by men. Because the aviation industry forecasts a high demand for pilots, it is highly desirable to address gender diversity and improve teaching methods in pilot education. In this study, potential application areas for AR-supported pilot training were investigated by conducting a survey with 60 pilots and flight instructors (including 12 women). Typical AR use cases were presented in videos, and the pilots reported their preferences regarding similar or other AR applications used in different parts of the flight training program. AR navigation was the use case that was most frequently preferred by both female and male pilots. The majority of pilots agreed that AR could potentially be used in theoretical instruction, pre-flight aircraft inspection, and procedure training. In addition, both gender groups showed similar preferences for various gaming concepts that make learning more interesting and engaging, such as receiving positive feedback. However, a higher percentage of women than men reported that achieving a target or receiving points to successfully finish a task and answering questions during the game were satisfying. Including a story in the game to attract attention was preferred by a higher percentage of men than women. The results of this study can be used to design AR educational concepts that support gender diversity in pilot education and other technical domains.