Investigation and Analysis of Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Attitudes Toward Advanced Care Planning and Their Willingness to Implement

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to understand the attitude of undergraduate nursing students toward advanced care planning (ACP) and their willingness to implement ACP and to analyze its influencing factors, so as to provide evidence-based basis for life and death education and ACP-related training in colleges and universities. METHODS: A total of 312 nursing undergraduates from a university in Chengdu (China) were surveyed by using general information questionnaire, attitude scale of ACP, and willingness questionnaire to implement ACP. RESULTS: The scores of undergraduate nursing students' attitude toward ACP were 24.97 ± 2.75, and the scores of total willingness to ACP were 79.26 ± 9.70. Univariate analysis and multivariate linear regression analysis showed that religious belief, grade, family relationship, and family discussion of death were the factors influencing the willingness of nursing students to carry out ACP. CONCLUSIONS: The attitude of undergraduate nursing students toward ACP tended to be positive, but their cognition of ACP was misunderstood, and their willingness to implement ACP needed to be improved. To improve the awareness and implementating willingness of undergraduate nursing students to ACP, it was recommended that colleges and universities carried out systematic standardized life and death education courses and ACP-related training.