The relationship between nurses' perceptions of spiritual care and their attitudes towards death and care of dying patients.

BACKGROUND

Holistic nursing care requires considering not only the physical and psychosocial but also the spiritual care needs of the patient.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to determine the relationship between nurses' perceptions of the concept of spiritual care and their attitudes towards death and the care of dying patients.

METHODS

The sample of this descriptive and correlational study consisted of 383 nurses. Data were collected using the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale (SSCRS), the Spiritual Support Perception Scale (SSPS), the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Scale (FATCOD), and the Death Attitude Profile Scale (DAP-R). The predictive role of nurses' perceptions of spiritual care on their attitudes toward caregiving for patients approaching death and dying was examined using path analysis. The results of the analysis were presented as descriptive statistics (mean ± SD), and frequency (percentage) distributions. The reliability of the scales and subscales was examined using the Cronbach's alpha internal consistency coefficient.

RESULTS

The path coefficient between the SSCRS and the DAP-R subscales of Fear of Death (β = 0.232; P = 0.025), Death Avoidance (β = 0.301; P = 0.007), Neutral Acceptance (β = 0.22; P = 0.01), Approach Acceptance (β = 0.444; P < 0.001), and Escape Acceptance (β = 0.659; P < 0.001) was statistically significant. The path coefficient between the FATCOD and the DAP-R subscales of Fear of Death (β = -0.032; P < 0.001), Death Avoidance (β = -0.038; P < 0.001), and Neutral Acceptance (β = 0.02; P < 0.001) was statistically significant.

SIGNIFICANCE OF

RESULTS

It was determined that there was a correlation between the nurses' perceptions of the concept of spiritual care and their attitudes towards death and the care of dying patients. It can be suggested that the nurses exhibited a more positive attitude toward the care of dying patients as their understanding of spirituality, spiritual support, and spiritual care increased.