Knowledge of the Andalusian legislation on dignified death and perception of the formation in attention to terminally ill patients of helth sciences students at Universidad de Granada, Spain

Resumen

Objective. To determine the knowledge of the Andalusian �Legislation of Rights and Guarantees of the Dignity of Individuals during the Death Process� and perception of the formation on attention to terminally ill patients by students of health sciences at Universidad de Granada, Spain. Methodology. Cross-sectional descriptive study, conducted in 2010, with the participation of 572 students from the Nursing, Physical Therapy, and Occupational Therapy careers of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Universidad de Granada. A questionnaire including 19 variables was used. The data gathered was analyzed with the SPSS 15.0 program. Results. Half of the participants know of this Legislation. A total of 86.7% of the students did not know that the limitation of the therapeutic effort is a legal practice throughout Spain; 97.9% did not know either that the limitation of vital support measures is a legal practice. 64.2% of the students feel capable of addressing this issue with terminally ill patients and their families. 83.3% of those surveyed report not having sufficient knowledge to provide information about the �Living testament�. Nursing students have greater knowledge of the Legislation studied; likewise, those who took the Palliative Care course obtained better results than students who did not. Conclusion. Students do not have adequate knowledge of the Andalusian legislation of dignified death. Although the participants do not feel prepared academically to deal with these types of patients, they do consider themselves capable of doing so.