What are social work students being taught about palliative care?

This study sought to determine the type and extent of content areas included in MSW courses dedicated to palliative care or with content related to palliative care practice. METHOD: A cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire was conducted. All 248 accredited MSW programs in the United States and 32 programs in Canada were invited to participate. Participants were asked to name the courses in their MSW program that were dedicated to, or included content on, palliative care, and submit the syllabi for these courses. Data comprised course content for each class session and required readings. A grounded theory approach was used to identify the topics covered.ResultOf the 105 participating programs that responded to the survey, 42 submitted 70 syllabi for courses with at least some palliative care content. There were 29 topics identified. The most common topic was grief, loss, and bereavement, followed closely by behavioral and mental health issues, and supporting family and friends; cultural perspectives and advance care planning were also common topics. For the 10 syllabi from courses dedicated to palliative care, supporting family was the most common topical area, followed closely by interprofessional practice and advance care planning.Significance of resultsAlthough there are many challenges to introducing palliative care content into MSW programs, including unqualified faculty and competing course material and electives of equally compelling content, there ...
Source: Palliative and Supportive Care - Category: Palliative Care Authors: Tags: Palliat Support Care Source Type: research