Students, Severe Illness, and Palliative Care: Results From a Pilot Study on a School-Based Intervention

This study was aimed at piloting a school-based intervention on severe illness, within a project focused on spreading knowledge of palliative care among high school students (phases 0-2 Medical Research Council Framework). The intervention entailed the screening of a topic-related movie, 2 classroom meetings, and the development of a class-based multimedia production. Five classes from 5 high schools participated in this study, and a before–after evaluation was used to assess intervention feasibility and impact. Valid questionnaires were filled in by 84% (before) and 79% (after) of the 89 students. Concerning students’ knowledge on palliative care, the after evaluation showed a significantly higher paired proportions of students reporting on “improving patient quality of life” and “life-threatening illness.” Intervention components were deemed helpful by students, and positive feedback on the experience was given.