title: Interventions concerning competence building in community palliative care services--a literature review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Studies establish that many incurably ill people would prefer to die at home, whether their final home is their own home or a nursing home. Experience shows that the professionals in palliative care at the basis level need to increase their competences. The purpose of this literature review is to examine experiences with interventions regarding the development of competencies within community palliative care services - in other words, at the individual work places.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study has been carried out as a literature review of international databases (PubMed/Medline, CHINAL, PsycInfo) with selected key words.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The review of the literature identified 15 publications which dealt with interventions regarding education and competence building. The publications represent individual studies, only two of which were controlled. All conclude that competence building has a positive effect according to the professionals. It is unknown whether or how patients and relatives feel a positive effect from the interventions just as it is unknown how the development of competencies has actually led to a more developed practice. The effect of local competence building in palliative care in the primary sector is lacking. Methods are needed to further examinations of how a competency has actually led to a more developed practice.
authors.affiliation: Danish Knowlegde Center for Palliative Care, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Mette
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Raunkiaer
authors.forename: Helle
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Timm
mesh_terms: D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000458:organization & administration; D010166:Palliative Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D017149:Private Sector; D011361:Professional Competence; D011787:Quality of Health Care
keywords: competencies development; literature review; palliation; primary health care; workplace education