Knowledge and Attitude towards Palliative Care amongst Clinical Physiotherapy Students in a Nigerian Tertiary Institution Palliative Care amongst Clinical Physiotherapy Students

Abstract

Background: The scope of physiotherapy practice is evolving, cutting across specialties such as palliative care. Though its benefits have been established, insufficient knowledge about palliative care is frequently observed among health practitioners, including physiotherapists. Objectives: This cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the level of knowledge and attitude towards palliative care amongst undergraduate clinical students of physiotherapy. Materials and Methods: A total of 130 conveniently sampled participants were involved in this study. We excluded first, second, and third-year physiotherapy students who were yet to commence clinical postings. Validated measures were used to assess knowledge and attitude toward palliative care. We summarized participants' characteristics using mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentages. Mann-Whitney U test was used to determine the interaction between selected participant variables and their knowledge and attitude towards palliative care. Results: The mean age of the respondents (females = 56.4%; males = 43.6%) was 24.0±2.08 years. Participants had poor knowledge (30.19±13.34) but a good attitude (70.95±9.25) towards palliative care. It was observed that students who were married possessed a more positive attitude towards palliative care compared to the singles (p=0.044). Conclusion: There is poor knowledge of palliative care amongst clinical physiotherapy students, which can be breached through an adequate training curriculum.