Abstract
Few studies have explored how nurses in acute care hospitals perceive and perform end-of-life care in Korea. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the influence of nurses’ perceptions of death on end-of-life care performance and analyze the mediating role of attitude towards end-of-life care among hospital nurses. This cross-sectional study included a total of 250 nurses who have had experience with end-of-life care from four general hospitals in Korea. We used the Korean validated tools with the View of Life and Death Scale, the Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying (FATCOD) scale, and the performance of end-of-life care. Hierarchical linear regression and mediation analysis, applying the bootstrapping method. The results of hierarchical linear regression showed that nurses’ positive perceptions of death and attitude towards end-of-life care were significantly associated with their performance of end-of-life care. A mediation analysis further revealed that nurses’ attitude towards end-of-life care mediates the relationship between the perceptions of death and performance of end-of-life care. Our findings suggest that supportive and practical death educational programs should be designed, based on nurses’ professional experience and work environment, which will enable them to provide better end-of-life care.
Highlights
Palliative care involves treatment of individuals who have life-threatening illnesses, in which a cure or complete reversal of the disease and its process is no longer possible [1,2,3,4]
Our finding was likewise similar to the study of Hussin et al [18], which reported that Malaysian nurses’ knowledge and attitude towards EOL care were low, and that these two factors were associated with the perceived quality of EOL care
Our study found that nurses who work at ICU and palliative care units were more likely to perform EOL care than those who work in general wards
Summary
Palliative care involves treatment of individuals who have life-threatening illnesses, in which a cure or complete reversal of the disease and its process is no longer possible [1,2,3,4]. As part and parcel of palliative care, end-of-life (EOL) care involves care being given in the last part of a patient’s life, typically in the last few months, depending on the primary diagnosis and clinical course [5]. Global interest in EOL care is growing, for compelling demographic and epidemiological reasons [1,2]. In South Korea, the population of older adults is expected to grow dramatically, due to significant increases in life expectancy and population aging [4]
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