The Current Attitude Toward Death and Hospice Care Among Medical Students in Mainland China

This study stems from the perceived need to update skills and training in the process of educating healthcare professionals in light of the needs of individuals and their families.

This study aimed to assess the prevailing attitudes toward death and hospice care among medical students in China, providing a foundation for implementing hospice care and death education within these institutions.

We conducted an online survey questionnaire with 568 medical students.

The results indicate that the overall attitude toward death was more inclined to accepting death neutrally. Gender, place of origin, educational background, willingness to care for terminally ill patients, experience in caring for terminally ill patients, and more will affect the attitude toward death of medical students. Compared to their rural counterparts, medical students in urban areas are more likely to view death as neutral. Instead of reducing fear, death and hospice education made people more likely to avoid situations. All five dimensions of death attitude exhibit a substantial positive connection with attitudes toward hospice care. In comparison to earlier research, medical students exhibit increasingly favorable attitudes regarding hospice care, and their overall perspective on death remains one of natural approval, suggesting that the integration of death and hospice care teaching is progressing effectively in mainland China.

Simultaneously, it was discovered that numerous deficiencies required enhancement, including the need for timely feedback and optimization in hospice care instruction and death education, as well as insufficient attention and educational guidance regarding the individual differences and psychological conditions of medical personnel in the future.