Development of a Training Course for Monk (Phra Kilanupatthak) Attendants Providing Palliative Care to Terminally Ill Monks in Accordance with Dhamma and Discipline in Monk’s Dwelling Palliative Care

การพัฒนาหลักสูตรสำหรับพระคิลานุปัฏฐากที่ปฏิบัติงานในกุฏิชีวาภิบาลในการดูแลพระสงฆ์อาพาธระยะท้ายที่เอื้อต่อพระธรรมวินัย

Abstract

This research and development study aimed to develop and evaluate a Training Course for Monk (Phra Kilanupatthak) Attendants Providing Palliative Care to Terminally Ill Monks in Accordance with Dhamma and Discipline in Monk’s Dwelling Palliative Care. The study was conducted in three phases: 1) situational analysis and conceptualization of end-of-life care; 2) a training course development; and 3) evaluation using a pre-experimental design, one-group pretest-posttest design. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 30 monks. Data were collected via questionnaires assessing care competencies, quality of care processes, palliative care levels, and satisfaction, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of 0.78, 0.82, 0.92, and 0.89, respectively. Data analysis included content analysis, descriptive statistics, and paired samples t-test. The results revealed that: 1) following training, care competencies and quality of care significantly improved compared to pre-training levels (p < 0.001); and 2) In terms of palliative care levels, most terminally ill monks maintained a PPS score of 80% (63.34%) and 70% (33.33%), reflecting a stable phase with good communication. This demonstrates that the developed curriculum significantly improved the caregiving competencies and quality of service of Phra Kilanupatthak. To promote a peaceful death aligned with Buddhist principles, this curriculum should be implemented across various areas to standardize end-of-life care for the monastic community.