ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE ON PALLIATIVE CARE AMONG NURSING OFFICERS AT TERTIARY CARE CENTRE OF SOUTH INDIA.

It is estimated in India the total number of people who need palliative care is likely to be 5.4 million people a year.The nurse is a key member of health team who typically has the greatest contact with the patient. This prolonged contact gives the nurse a unique opportunity to know the patient and the caregivers, to assess in depth what is happening and what is of importance to the patient, and to assist the patient to cope with the effects of advancing disease. Aim: The present study aims to identify the level of knowledge and Attitude on Palliative care among Nursing officers at Tertiary care centre. Methods: The cross -sectional descriptive study conducted in 171 samples. The subjects were selected based on convenient sampling technique. Result:Out of 171 Nursing officers majority of the nursing personnel 64.3% had moderately adequate knowledge and 34.5% had adequate knowledge and 0.12% had inadequate knowledge. Majority of the nursing officers 97.07% had favorable attitude and only 2.9% had unfavorable attitude . Correlation of level of knowledge and attitude among the staff nurses indicates a positive correlation and shows the results, p-value (0.0002) are highly significant. Conclusion: This study revealed that the majority of the nurses have moderately adequate knowledge and favorable attitude on palliative care.