The effectiveness of 8A model death education on the reduction of death depression: A preliminary study.

Mahboubeh Dadfar,David Lester

doi:10.1002/nop2.390

Mahboubeh Dadfar, David Lester

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.390

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Abstract

AimDeath education using the 8A model can reduce death distress and promote mental health. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of the 8A model death education programme for reducing death depression among nurses. The hypothesis was that participating in the 8A model death education programme would reduce death depression.DesignA pre‐test–post‐test intervention.MethodsTen nurses were selected randomly from the intensive care units and critical care units wards of the Khatom‐Al‐Anbia General Hospital in Tehran, Iran. They completed the Death Depression Scale before and after intervention. The 8A model was conducted in six workshops weekly, each of 6 hr, for a total of 36 hr.ResultsThere was a significant difference between pre‐test and post‐test on the Death Depression Scale scores.DiscussionThe 8A model appears to be useful for the reduction of death depression and the promotion of mental health in the sample. However, the model should be tested on larger samples and with a control group before concluding that the model is effective in reducing death distress.

Highlights

The second component of reactions to death intro‐ duced by Templer, Lavoie, Chalgujian, and Thomas‐Dobson (1990), is an emotional, attitude and cognitive construct
The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of the 8A model death education on the reduction of death depression among nurses
The results indicated a significant difference between pre‐test and post‐test for the Death Depression Scale (DDS) scores

Summary

Introduction

The second component of reactions to death intro‐ duced by Templer, Lavoie, Chalgujian, and Thomas‐Dobson (1990), is an emotional, attitude and cognitive construct. The rationale for in‐ troducing this construct was that depression appeared to be present in the anticipation of death and in the process of dying. In the theory of Kübler‐Ross (1969), there are five stages of grief, death and the dying process in terminal illness, summarized as DABDA: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. In the Depression stage of the grief process, common signs of depression are difficulty sleeping, poor appetite, fatigue, lack of energy, crying spells, self‐pity, and feeling lonely, isolated, empty, lost and anxious (Dadfar, & Lester, 2017a; Dadfar, Lester, Asgharnejad Farid, Atef Vahid, & Birashk, 2014; Tomás‐Sábado & Gómez‐Benito, 2005; Tomás‐Sábado & Limonero, 2007)

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