Leslie M. Jiménez-Buendía 1
, Daniel Canaán-Pérez 2
, Arturo García-Galicia 3
, Nancy R. Bertado-Ramírez 4
, Jorge Loría-Castellanos 5
, Álvaro J. Montiel-Jarquín 4
, Minerva S. Pulido-Martínez 6
, Luz K. Ramírez-Dueñas 7
, Xenia Cabada-Cepeda 1
, Jesús A. Méndez-Aranda 8
, José F. García-Gutiérrez 9 
1 Servicio de Geriatría;Hospital General de Zona No. 20, Órgano Operador de Administración Desconcentrada Puebla, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), Puebla, Pue., México; 2 Servicio de Urgencias. Hospital General de Zona No. 20, Órgano Operador de Administración Desconcentrada Puebla, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS), Puebla, Pue., México; 3 Dirección de Educación e Investigación en Salud, Hospital de Especialidades de Puebla, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) Puebla, México; 4 Dirección de Educación e Investigación enSalud, Hospital de Especialidades de Puebla, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Puebla, Puebla, México; 5 Red Nacional de Educadores en Simulación Clínica, Ciudad de México. México; 6 Centro de Documentación en Salud, Hospital General de Zona No. 20, Órgano Operador de Administración Desconcentrada, IMSS. Puebla, Pue., México; 7 Centro de Investigación Educativa y Formación Docente. Órgano Operador de Administración Desconcentrada, IMSS. Puebla, Pue., México; 8 Departamento de Medicina General, Hospital Covadonga Veracruz, Boca del Río, Ver., México; 9 Servicio de Rehabilitación Física, Hospital General de Zona No. 20, Órgano Operador de Administración Desconcentrada, IMSS Puebla, Puebla, Pue. México
*Correspondence: Arturo García-Galicia. Email: neurogarciagalicia@yahoo.com.mx
Background: Knowledge of palliative care in terminally ill patients promotes emotional detachment and optimal empathic care for medical personnel.
Objective: To demonstrate changes in palliative care knowledge after an academic session.
Material and methods: Comparative, quasi-experimental, prospective study on the effect of an educational intervention in residents of different specialties of the Mexican Institute of Social Security in Puebla, Mexico. The PCKT-SV instrument was applied to measure knowledge of palliative care in terminally ill patients. Subsequently, a training session was given and the instrument was reapplied. Chi-square, Wilcoxon and paired t-test were used; a p less than 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: One hundred forty-one residents were included, with a predominance of Fair (49.6%) and Very good (43.3%) knowledge before training. Scores after the educational intervention: 46 (32.62%) residents scored Excellent, 84 (59.57%) Very good, 11 (7.80%) Regular, and none Poor.
Conclusions: Overall knowledge of palliative care in resident physicians of varied specialties improved after a brief training session. Measurement of the effect on end-of-life care requires further study.
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