KNOWLEDGE AND SELF-EFFICACY IN PALLIATIVE CARE AMONG HEALTH GRADUATES

Objective: To assess knowledge, skills and attitudes of final-year students regarding palliative care with an emphasis on curricular inclusion. 
Methods: Cross-sectional study (November/2024–September/2025) with 39 final-year students from Medicine, Nutrition, Dentistry and Psychology; data collected online via Google Forms after informed consent. Instrument: Adapted Bonn Palliative Care Knowledge Test (BPW) (23 knowledge items; 15 self-efficacy items); responses dichotomized.
Results: 39 participants; 92.3% reported prior contact with palliative care. Median score 7 (IQR 6–9), mean 7.8±3.6; no relevant differences between courses. Conceptual items had higher accuracy rates (e.g., non-pharmacological therapies 94.9%); practical/philosophical items, lower (e.g., emotional closeness 7.7%; transdermal opioid management 20.5%). Self-efficacy: communication and care coordination >50% “able/reasonably able”, but gaps remained in clinical management and sensitive situations. 
Conclusion: knowledge was moderate and heterogeneous; systematic, cross-disciplinary, and interprofessional inclusion of palliative care into undergraduate curricula is recommended, with supervised practice focused on communication, symptom control and shared decision-making.