The Integral Role of Hospice Nurse Educators in a Palliative Care Education Program for Nurses in Assisted Living

Persons with dementia (PWD) are increasingly cared for in assisted living (AL) settings with an annual mortality rate of close to 20%. Palliative care (PC) for PWD in ALs can improve end-of-life care. From May, 2019 to February, 2020 a 4-week PC education in AL (PCEAL) program for nurses who provide care to PWD, facilitated by hospice nurses in Florida, was tested in a sample of nurses (N=20) in a cluster randomized trial (9 ALs, 4 treatment/5 control). We examined if PC knowledge increased from pre to post-intervention using a validated measure (Thompson, 2011). All intervention nurses (N=10) completed all four sessions of the PCEAL. While the baseline score was lower for the intervention group compared to the control group, the intervention group improved (M=2.20 to 2.37) compared to the control group (M=2.83 to 2.75) post-intervention. Two-month booster sessions indicate nurses have integrated PC care learned in the PCEAL program.