Abstract
Introduction Nurses play an important role in caring for dying patients. However, little is known about the attitude towards death of the registered nurses in China. Materials and Methods A knowledge, attitude, and the practice (KAP) survey using standardized questionnaires was conducted at eight teaching hospitals in Jiangsu Province, China. In total, 366 nursing interns were recruited and 357 turned in valid response. Data about the interns' demographic characteristics and their attitudes to death in five domains, including fear of death, death avoidance, natural acceptance, approach acceptance, and escape acceptance, were collected. Results Compared to the norms, the nursing interns had statistically significantly higher scores in the domains death avoidance, approach acceptance, and fear of death (14.9 vs. 11.1, 26.2 vs. 24.2, and 20.3 vs. 19.0, respectively); however, statistically significantly lower scores were in the domains natural acceptance and escape acceptance (18.4 vs. 22.0, and 13.6 vs. 15.1, respectively). Religious belief, experience of a deceased relative in family, death education, and family atmosphere of discussing death are positively associated with one or more domains of attitude towards death. Conclusion The positive attitude towards death and death education before clinical practice are helpful for nursing interns when they care for dying patients. In general, the scores of attitude towards death are at a moderate level in the surveyed Chinese nursing interns. The death education for nursing students needs to be reinforced in China.
Highlights
Nurses play an important role in caring for dying patients
E death education is given throughout the rst three years both in class and hospital exercitation before internship, by using lectures/courses, focus group discussion, and/or problem based learning. e contents of the education include Death and Dying, Evolution and Development of Humans’ Knowledge of Death, Progress of Life Cycle, Meaning of Death, Death Epidemiology, Socioeconomic Issues of Death, and Hospice and Palliative Care [17]. e present study aimed to investigate and assess the attitude of nursing interns caring for dying patients in eight teaching hospitals of Kangda College of Nanjing Medical University in Jiangsu Province, China
Study Design. e study is a questionnaire survey on the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) using standardized questionnaires. e convenience sampling method was used to recruit 366 nursing interns from the eight teaching hospitals a liated to Kangda College of Nanjing Medical University in Jiangsu Province, China. e nursing interns had worked more than 5 months in the teaching hospitals, and participated in the survey voluntarily with signed consent form
Summary
Failure to discuss death as part of normal life may have a number of consequences, including fear of the process of dying, a lack of awareness and openness between close family members, and lack of knowledge about how to request and provide services when a person is dying. In Israel, a study on oncology nurses’ personal attitude towards death implies that culture and religion might play important roles in the development of the attitude towards the care of dying patients [9]. Both civilizations moved through broadly similar stages, some in uential contextual factors have been very in uential in shaping the di erence in attitude towards death between them [10]. Compared to the male counterparts, the female nursing students showed more positive attitude towards caring for dying patients during treatment and a er death [13]. E death education is given throughout the rst three years both in class and hospital exercitation before internship, by using lectures/courses, focus group discussion, and/or problem based learning. e contents of the education include Death and Dying, Evolution and Development of Humans’ Knowledge of Death, Progress of Life Cycle, Meaning of Death, Death Epidemiology, Socioeconomic Issues of Death, and Hospice and Palliative Care [17]. e present study aimed to investigate and assess the attitude of nursing interns caring for dying patients in eight teaching hospitals of Kangda College of Nanjing Medical University in Jiangsu Province, China
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
