Cultural Adaptation and Pilot Testing of a Basic Palliative Care Curriculum for Practicing Physicians and Nurses in Mainland China.

Abstract

<b><i>Background:</i></b> To meet the growing palliative care (PC) needs of China's aging population, we culturally adapted and pilot tested an evidence-based basic PC training program for practicing clinicians. <b><i>Design:</i></b> Barrera's framework guided a multistage, surface, and deep structural adaptation of an existing course. We pilot tested the final curricula with 51 participants in September 2022. Participant demographics and postcourse satisfaction survey were descriptively analyzed. <b><i>Results:</i></b> A total of 20 nurses and 29 physicians completed the course and instruments. Majority of participants were between 31 and 50 years old (<i>n</i> = 39, 79.6%), female (<i>n</i> = 41, 83.7%), internal medicine trained (<i>n</i> = 30, 61.2%), and worked in tertiary hospitals (<i>n</i> = 47, 95.9). Most participants considered the course quality to be "high" or "very high" (<i>n</i> = 47, 95.9%). <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Practicing physicians and nurses in mainland China consider this culturally adapted basic PC training to be feasible and acceptable. Future studies should evaluate the effectiveness of PC training and develop strategies to overcome implementation challenges.