Yes. For your RCHE/OAH education course, the most suitable approach is usually a combination of a knowledge tool plus an attitude/confidence tool. The best-supported knowledge tool from the available sources is the Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing / Nurses, or PCQN.
Well-accepted tools
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Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing / Nurses (PCQN)
- This is a widely used tool to assess nurses’ basic palliative care knowledge [
1][
4].
- It was developed to measure nurses’ knowledge of palliative care and has been adapted into several languages and settings [
2][
3][
4].
- It assesses cognitive understanding of palliative care, including palliative care philosophy and principles [
4][
8].
- This is probably the best choice if your main outcome is “staff palliative care knowledge.”
- This is a widely used tool to assess nurses’ basic palliative care knowledge [
-
Palliative Care Knowledge Test (PCKT)
- This may be considered as another knowledge assessment tool, but you should verify its domains, target population, and validation evidence before selecting it.
- You should also check whether a validated Chinese version is available before using it in Hong Kong.
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Bonn Palliative Care Knowledge Test (BPW)
- This may be considered if your course aims to assess not only knowledge, but also staff confidence or self-efficacy.
- You should verify whether it is suitable for frontline OAH care workers before using it.
-
Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying Scale (FATCOD / FATCOD-B)
- This is not a knowledge test; it is used to measure attitudes toward caring for dying patients [
5][
7].
- It is useful for your topic because your project is concerned with how staff respond to residents who are dying in the home setting.
- It can help evaluate whether the course changes staff attitudes toward death and dying.
- This is not a knowledge test; it is used to measure attitudes toward caring for dying patients [
-
End-of-Life Professional Caregiver Survey (EPCS)
- This may be useful if you want to evaluate perceived competence or confidence in end-of-life care.
- You should verify its suitability, scoring, and validation evidence for your specific staff group before using it.
Best choice for your project
For an OAH staff education course in RCHE, I suggest using:
- PCQN for palliative care knowledge.
- FATCOD-B for attitude toward caring for dying residents.
- A short self-developed Hong Kong-specific quiz for local policy, AMD, DNACPR, dying-in-place procedures, and RCHE workflow.
This is because PCQN is designed to assess general palliative care knowledge, while your course may also need to assess local legal, documentation, and operational knowledge specific to the Hong Kong RCHE context [1][
3][
4].
Suggested evaluation design
You can write:
Staff knowledge and attitudes will be evaluated before and after the education course. The Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing will be used to measure basic palliative care knowledge, as it is a widely used instrument developed to assess nurses’ knowledge of palliative care [
1][
3][
4]. The Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying Scale may be used to assess staff attitudes toward caring for dying residents [
5][
7]. In addition, a short locally developed quiz will assess Hong Kong-specific knowledge regarding AMD, DNACPR, dying-in-place procedures, documentation, and escalation pathways.
Practical recommendation
For your RCHE project, I would not rely on PCQN alone. Use this combination:
- Knowledge: PCQN
- Attitude: FATCOD-B
- Confidence: EPCS or a short confidence rating scale
- Local legal/procedure knowledge: self-developed 10–15 item quiz
- Skills: simulation checklist for deterioration, family communication, and post-death procedure
This gives a more complete evaluation of whether the education course improves knowledge, attitude, confidence, and practical readiness.
