Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this project was to increase nurses’ knowledge and comfort level regarding advance care planning (ACP) in patients with a diagnosis of heart failure (HF) in a clinical setting.

Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used with a pre-and-post test administered to nurses prior to the beginning of a four-hour interactive class and immediately following the class. The data was analyzed using a 5-point Likert scale and paired t-tests were used to determine statistical significance. Statistical significance was set at 0.05.

Results: Of the eight nurses who participated in the interactive course, seven were female, one was male, and all had less than five years of clinical nursing experience. The average knowledge score was quite high for both pre- and post-tests and was 4.6 and 4.9 respectively (p = .049). The average confidence score was 2.8 pre-intervention and increased significantly to 4.3 at post-intervention (p = .001).

Conclusions: Nurses who attended a four-hour interactive class had a statistically significant increase in knowledge and comfort level regarding ACP communication with HF patients in a clinical setting. Thus, nurses can be instrumental in introducing sensitive topics such as ACP.

Date of Project Completion

Fall 9-30-2020

Document Type

Project Paper

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Department

Nursing

First Advisor

Sandra Paddock

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Nursing Commons

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