Advancing palliative care in Kenya.

BACKGROUND Life-threatening illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and other disorders are prevalent in the developing world, including Kenya. OBJECTIVE The aim of this project was to assist in the development of palliative care throughout Kenya by enhancing the knowledge and skill of faculty members in palliative care so they could integrate this content into existing nursing curricula. METHODS In an effort to develop palliative care throughout the country, experts from the Kenya Hospices and Palliative Care Association and the Kenyatta National Hospital invited faculty from the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium with the United States to adopt the content of its training program to address the needs of nurses and other health care professionals in Kenya. This curriculum was delivered to nursing faculty from throughout Kenya during a 5-day training course that incorporated presentations, case studies, exercises, and other teaching methods. RESULTS The course participants completed daily course evaluations in which they rated each session on a scale of 0 = not helpful to 5 = very helpful. All of the sessions were rated very favorably, with scores for all sessions across the 5 days ranging from 4.57 to 4.91. CONCLUSION End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium provided educational and other support to faculty teaching in nursing schools in Kenya so they could advance palliative care efforts in this country. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE Nurses working in the United States can share their expertise and learn immense lessons from colleagues in developing worlds.