Development of the standard hospice and palliative care education program in Korea: results from the demonstration project.
OBJECTIVE
To describe development of the Standard Hospice & Palliative Care Education Program in Korea, a basic training program for hospice & palliative care professionals, and to report preliminary results from the 2008-2009 demonstration project at 2 sites that support its effectiveness.


METHODS
We developed the Standard Hospice & Palliative Care Education Program, consisting of 19 modules, under the initiative and financial support of the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Family Affairs. We adapted the train-the-trainer model and benchmarked the EPEC (Education in Palliative and End-of-life Care) course. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the program, session evaluation, pre-post test of knowledge, and overall course evaluation were assessed by participants.


RESULTS
The demonstration program included a total of 105 participants. Overall rating by participants was 4.1 for relevance and usefulness of program contents (range, 4.1-4.2; 1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) and 4.1 for the trainer's teaching skills (range, 4.0-4.2). Participants demonstrated significant improvement in their knowledge on the pre-post test for 6 of the 17 modules, and reported that they had gained confidence in their ability to perform palliative care practices (overall mean ratings, 4.0, range; 3.6-4.3; 1 = very low, 5 = very high). Overall evaluation of the program was very high (very satisfied or satisfied; 86%).


CONCLUSIONS
Development of the Standard Hospice & Palliative Care Education Program was successful, and its preliminary effectiveness was shown by the demonstration program. Comments on our experience in Korea would be helpful to efforts in other countries, particularly those with limited resources for hospice and palliative care.
Kang
Jina
J
Hospice & Palliative Care Branch, National Cancer Center, Goyangsi, Republic of Korea.
Koh
Su Jin
SJ
Yoo
Yang Sook
YS
Choi
Young Sim
YS
Choi
Jin Young
JY
Chang
Yoon Jung
YJ
Park
Eun Cheol
EC
Shin
Dong Wook
DW
D003479:Curriculum / Q000592:standards*; D003625:Data Collection; D004493:Education; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D017051:Hospice Care; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010166:Palliative Care; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016730:Program Development; D056910:Republic of Korea