Korean J Hosp Palliat Care.  2021 Sep;24(3):154-164. 10.14475/jhpc.2021.24.3.154.

The Effects of a Death Preparation Education Program on Death Anxiety, Death Attitudes, and Attitudes toward End-of-Life Care among Nurses in Convalescent Hospitals

• Chu Ey
• Jang Sh

• KMID: 2519874
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14475/jhpc.2021.24.3.154

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a death preparation education program for nurses working in convalescent hospitals on death anxiety, death attitudes, and attitudes toward end-of-life care.
Methods
This was a quasi-experimental study with a non-equivalent control group, pre-test and post-test design. Among 53 participants, 26 were assigned to the non-equivalent experimental group and 27 to the control group. The program was performed in the formats of lectures, video-watching, group discussions, and sharing, and consisted of 10 sessions held twice a week, for 5 weeks (90minutes per session). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the t-test, and the chisquare test in SPSS version 21.0.
Results
Significant differences between the experimental and control groups were observed in death anxiety (t=7.62, P＜0.001), death attitudes (t=-7.58, P＜0.001), and attitudes to end-of-life care (t=-10.30, P＜0.001).
Conclusion
It was confirmed that the death preparation education program reduced death anxiety and had a positive effect on death attitudes and attitudes toward end-of-life care. Based on the results of this study, it is expected that specialized and systematic education that can increase the implementation and stability of death preparation education in various fields, including nursing, will have a positive effect on both hospice patients and members of society more broadly.

Keyword

Education; Convalescent hospitals; Nurses; Death; Anxiety; Attitude to death; Terminal care