Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Assessing the compliance of educational curricula of selected disciplines with the content standards of cancer‑related palliative care

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

. Zahra Ebadinejad 1
. Maryam Rassouli 2
. Ali Fakhr‑Movahedi 3

1 Student Research Committee, Pediatric and Neonatal Nursing Department, School of Nursing, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran

2 Cancer Research Centre, Pediatric Nursing Department, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

3 Nursing Care Research Center, Pediatric and Neonatal Nursing Department, School of Nursing, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Management of cancer complications requires the provision of palliative care as a
comprehensive care by the main and trained members of this method of care. The aim of the present
study was to assess the compliance of educational curricula of selected disciplines with the content
standards of cancer‑related palliative care.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this descriptive–comparative study, the content standards of
palliative care for nurses, physicians, and social workers were identified based on the World Health
Organization guideline and Oxford Textbook of Palliative Nursing. For this purpose, a separate
checklist was prepared for the disciplines with different dimensions. Then the face and content
validity of the checklists were checked. Finally, we examined the coordination between selected
curricula available on the website of Education Deputy of the Ministry of Health, Treatment and
Medical Education with the dimensions of the checklists.
RESULTS: All three curricula in most domains were relevant with the content standards, but there
was the biggest education need in the areas related to the dimensions of “planning and educational,”
“educating physician in palliative care,” and “considering patient preferences” in these disciplines.
CONCLUSIONS: To meet the educational needs, it is suggested to change some course topics,
hold training courses, or joint workshops.

Keywords

Content standards
curriculum
medical
neoplasms
nursing
palliative care
social work
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Journal of Education and Health Promotion
Volume 11, Issue 6
July 2021
Pages 1-13

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