Degree Name
Nursing Practice, DNP
Publication Date
8-4-2025
First Advisor
Lisa Drake
Second Advisor
Diane Hare
Abstract
Palliative care remains significantly underutilized in the management of heart failure, despite national guidelines supporting its early integration. This underuse limits opportunities for person-centered care in cardiology settings. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to improve provider knowledge and comfort in implementing palliative care consultations. The problem addressed was the low consultation rates for advanced heart failure patients, largely driven by provider misconceptions and a lack of formal training. A quasi-experimental design was initiated by using a brief, evidence-based educational article. Sixteen advanced practice providers at a high-volume cardiology clinic completed pre- and post-intervention surveys using the End-of-Life Professional Caregiver Survey (EPCS). A retrospective chart review measured changes in consultation rates. Findings revealed a statistically significant improvement in the Effective Care Delivery subscale (p = .003), indicating increased provider competence. Although upward trends were noted in patient-centered communication and cultural values subscales, they did not reach statistical significance. Unexpectedly, consultation rates declined from 12.6% to 9.9% post-intervention (p = .35), likely due to a short follow-up period and lack of multiple teaching modalities. This project demonstrated that a focused, low-cost educational intervention can improve provider readiness to integrate palliative care into clinical practice. While behavior change was not immediate, results support the need for continued education and system-level strategies to translate knowledge into action. The intervention model is adaptable, sustainable, and well-positioned to advance evidence-based, person-centered care for patients with advanced heart failure in cardiology settings.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Hess, Summer R., "Assessing and Improving Provider Knowledge and Comfort with Palliative Care Consultations: A Quality Improvement Project" (2025). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 128.
https://arch.astate.edu/dnp-projects/128
