Web-Based End-of-Life and Post-Mortem Care Education for Nursing Students

This study is designed as a single‐blind, parallel‐group randomized controlled trial toevaluate the effectiveness of a web‐based end‐of‐life and post‐mortem care educationprogram developed for undergraduate nursing students. The educational intervention hasbeen developed as part of a doctoral dissertation and is based on current scientificevidence, international recommendations, and the End‐of‐Life Nursing Education Consortium(ELNEC) curriculum.The intervention consists of eight structured online learning modules covering thefundamental concepts of end‐of‐life care, symptom management, recognition of the dyingprocess, principles of a dignified death, post‐mortem care practices, family support,spiritual care, and case‐based learning. Each module is designed to be completed withinapproximately 10‐15 minutes and includes narrated presentations, visual materials,flowcharts, decision trees, animations, and case‐based learning activities. Theeducational videos will be delivered through a dedicated web‐based learning platform thatallows participants to access the content regardless of time and location. The platformwill ensure sequential completion of the modules; participants will not be able tofast‐forward videos or proceed to the next module without completing the current one.Participants randomized to the intervention group will receive the web‐based educationalprogram through the online learning platform over a two‐month period. Participantsrandomized to the control group will participate in three face‐to‐face case discussionsessions covering end‐of‐life and post‐mortem care as specified in the study protocol. Tominimize contamination between the study groups, participants in the control group willnot have access to the web‐based educational platform during the intervention period.After completion of data collection, the web‐based educational materials will also bemade available to participants in the control group.Before implementation, the educational materials will undergo expert review to establishcontent validity. Subsequently, a pilot study will be conducted with nursing graduates toevaluate the usability of the web platform and the comprehensibility of the educationalcontent. Feedback obtained during the pilot phase will be incorporated into the finalversion of the educational program before participant recruitment begins.Participants will be allocated to the study groups using a computer‐generatedrandomization procedure conducted by an independent researcher who is not involved in theimplementation of the study. To ensure comparability between groups, randomization willbe performed while considering participants' grade point averages. Because theeducational intervention will be delivered by the principal investigator, investigatorblinding will not be feasible. However, participants will not be informed of their groupallocation, and the researchers responsible for outcome assessment, data coding, andstatistical analyses will remain blinded to group assignment. The study will be conductedand reported in accordance with the CONSORT 2025 Statement: Updated Guideline forReporting Randomized Trials.The web‐based education platform has been specifically designed for this study to provideflexible access to educational materials while enabling standardized delivery of theintervention. The platform includes secure individual user accounts, participant progressmonitoring, reminder functions, and restricted access limited to enrolled participants.These features are intended to improve participant adherence and ensure consistentimplementation of the educational intervention throughout the study.