J Korean Acad Adult Nurs.  1999 Jun;11(2):205-214.

Subjectivity toward Death among Health Care Personnel: A Q-methodological Approach

• Yeun EJ

Abstract

Since 'purpose' and 'aim' are present in all human behaviors, if it is the subject of the research, it must be different from a retributive explanation which focuses on the cause and effect. Since death is an extremely subjective and unique experience, if we take into account the lack of understanding about death due to the difficulty in methodology, it is very important to try to understand the subjectivity of death. In this respect, Q-methodology, which explains and shows the respondent's subjectivity by objectifying his subjectivity, is employed to find the solution to the questions in this study. Therefore the reason this study was initiated was to understand the characteristics and attitudinal types toward death among health care personnel. The results of this study are as follows The First type, the Fate-receipient, consisted of 17 subjects. The main charasteristics of the people in Type 1 are : a) They can talk openly about death, so as to prepare themselves for it. b) They strongly agree with the statements that the spirit does not die. c) They don't want to be put in intensive care when they're in coma. d) A person's death is part of his destiny. To these people, suicide is the most cowardly behavior, and their view of life after death is based on their religion. The Second type, the Reality-oriented, consisted of 11 subjects. These people in Type 2 think that the existence of the spirit or the next world was created by human beings for religious reasons and strongly deny the effect that religion has on our everyday life. So while they're still alive, they concentrate on life itself rather than thinking about death. In conclusion, this study discovered two types of subjectivity of health care personnel concerninig death and their relationship to it. By identifying the nature of the two types, this study suggests efficient strategies for developing educational programs in the university curriculum and continuing educational programs should be employed.

MeSH Terms

Coma
Curriculum
Delivery of Health Care*
Humans
Critical Care
Suicide
Surveys and Questionnaires
Thinking