Factors influencing nurses' attitudes toward death

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Psychology
• Thanatology

Background:

• Healthcare providers, including nurses, often experience fear and anxiety when caring for terminally ill patients.
• Understanding nurses' attitudes toward death is crucial for improving end-of-life care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify common nurse attitudes towards death and dying.
• To explore sociodemographic, professional, and training factors influencing these attitudes.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive correlational study was conducted with 360 nurses from internal medicine, oncology, hematology, and palliative care units.
• Data were collected using sociodemographic questionnaires and validated scales measuring death attitudes and adult attachment.

Main Results:

• Older nurses and those with more experience showed higher acceptance of death as an escape.
• Female nurses reported greater religious acceptance of death.
• Nurses in medicine, oncology, and hematology displayed higher fear, avoidance, and escape acceptance of death compared to palliative care nurses.

Conclusions:

• Study findings enhance understanding of factors influencing nurses' end-of-life care attitudes.
• Results can inform the development of targeted pre- and post-graduate nursing education programs.