Online palliative care education and spiritual care perceptions among Iranian nursing students: A quasi-experimental study.

BACKGROUND: Spiritual care is often underprovided in nursing practice due to insufficient education and training. Online education may offer an effective strategy to bridge this gap. AIMS: To determine the effect of an online palliative care education programme on the perception of spirituality and spiritual care among Iranian nursing students. METHODS: This two-group, quasi-experimental study was conducted on 60 nursing students enrolled in the sixth semester or higher at Gonabad University of Medical Sciences, Iran. They were selected using convenience sampling based on the study inclusion criteria, and were allocated into intervention and control groups. Students in the intervention group participated in four educational sessions about palliative care. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire and spirituality and spiritual care measurement scale. The data were analysed using SPSS version 20 by independent and paired t-tests, Chi-square and analysis of covariance at the significance level of 0.05. FINDINGS: The two groups were comparable with respect to demographic characteristics (P>0.05). However, significant baseline differences were observed in spirituality, spiritual care and overall attitude scores. To address these baseline imbalances, analysis of covariance was performed, adjusting for pre-intervention scores. The results of analysis of covariance demonstrated that the educational intervention had a significant and substantial effect on students' perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care after controlling for baseline differences (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Participation in an online palliative care education programme may be associated with improved perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care among nursing students. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Integrating structured online training into undergraduate nursing curricula may better prepare future nurses to deliver holistic patient-centred care.