End of Life Clinical Nurse Survey (EOLCS)
Measures clinical nurses' perceptions of the effectiveness of end-of-life care, frequency of ethical dilemmas, barriers to providing care, adequacy of their education, and personal effectiveness in palliative care.
Scale Development & Technical Details
Scale Overview
The End of Life Clinical Nurse Survey (EOLCS) was developed by Ferrell, B. R., Virani, R., & Grant, M. (1999). It is designed to measure Nurses’ attitudes towards and confidence in end-of-life care. The scale is intended for use with Clinical Nurses.
Scale Structure
This instrument consists of 40 items organized into 5 factors/subscales: Effectiveness of EOL Care, Frequency of Dilemmas, Barriers to EOL Care, Adequacy of Education, Personal and Colleague Effectiveness.
| Factor / Subscale | Items | N |
|---|---|---|
| Effectiveness of EOL Care | 1,2,3,4,5,6 | 6 |
| Frequency of Dilemmas | 7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15 | 9 |
| Barriers to EOL Care | 16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27 | 12 |
| Adequacy of Education | 28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36 | 9 |
| Personal and Colleague Effectiveness | 37,38,39,40 | 4 |
Response Format
Respondents rate each item using a custom response format.
Response anchors: 1 = Not at all / Not common / Not a barrier / Not adequate, 2 = Somewhat / Somewhat common / Somewhat of a barrier / Somewhat adequate, 3 = Very / Very common / Severe barrier / Very adequate.
Scoring
Items are scored by subscale, with each subscale sum representing a distinct dimension.
Total scores range from 40 to 120. Interpretation guidelines:
- Low / Inadequate: 40 – 66
- Moderate / Somewhat Adequate: 67 – 93
- High / Very Adequate: 94 – 120
Psychometric Properties
Internal Consistency: The scale has demonstrated good to excellent internal consistency with reported Cronbach’s alpha values of Not reported (descriptive/needs assessment tool).
Administration
The scale is self-administered and typically takes approximately 15 minutes to complete. It can be administered individually or in group settings. No special training is required for administration.