[Revision of the diagnostic label death anxiety]

The inclusion of the diagnostic label of "death anxiety" by the North Americvan Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA) in the 2001-2002 taxonomy is justified by the interest in establishing the specific care required in terminal patients. Nevertheless, the definition of "death anxiety" does not delimit the concept precisely, since it does not clearly establish the difference between the terms "death anxiety" and "fear of death". Consequently, the need arose to design a project whose goal was to modify the nursing diagnostic label and defining characteristics proposed by the NANDA, as well as to formulate the related factors, which had not yet been developed. At the meeting of the Diagnostic Review Committee in February 2005, the NANDA considered the proposal, accepting both the modification of the definition of the diagnostic label and the inclusion of the related factors. The revision will be included in the 2007 NANDA taxonomy.