- 作者：Louise Peters ; Robyn Cant ; Sheila Payne ; Margaret O鈥機onnor ; Fiona McDermott ; Kerry Hood ; Julia Morphet ; Kaori Shimoinaba
- 关键词：Attitude to death ; Death ; Emergency nursing ; Palliative care nursing
- 刊名：Australasian Emergency Nursing Journal
- 出版年：November, 2013
- 年：2013
- 卷：16
- 期：4
- 页码：152-159
- 全文大小：565 K
Summary
Background
Caring for dying patients and their families presents many challenges, and may be negatively affected by nurses鈥?Fear of Death. This study investigates attitudes of emergency and palliative care nurses towards death and dying.Methods
A mixed methods design including questionnaire and interview, was utilised. This paper reports questionnaire results from the Death Attitude Profile-Revised Scale and coping skills.
Results
Twenty-eight emergency nurses and 28 palliative care nurses from two health services participated. Nurses held low to moderate Fear of Death (44%), Death Avoidance (34%), Escape Acceptance (47%) and Approach Acceptance (59%). Emergency nurses reported higher death avoidance and, significantly lower coping skills than palliative care nurses. Both reported high acceptance of the reality of death (Neutral Acceptance 82%), and indicated they coped better with a patient who was dying than with, the patient's family.
Conclusions
Nurses generally held positive attitudes towards death and dying. Participants could cope with caring for dying patients, but were significantly less comfortable coping with patients鈥?family members. Nurses should be aware of the impact their attitude towards death may have on providing supportive nursing care for the dying.