The Impacts of End-of-Life Care Stress, Perception of a Good Death, and Emotional Intelligence on End-of-Life Care Performance Among Public Hospital Nurses.

AIMS: To examine the relationships among end-of-life care stress, perception of a good death, emotional intelligence, and end-of-life care performance and the factors influencing end-of-life care performance of public hospital nurses.

BACKGROUND

Korean society is entering a superaging phase, and with growing social interest in end-of-life health, the need for end-of-life care is steadily increasing. End-of-life care stress, perceptions of a good death, emotional intelligence, and end-of-life care performance are interrelated, and comprehensive research that applies these variables is needed.

METHODS

A cross-sectional descriptive design was employed and adheres to the STROBE guidelines. Participants were 146 nurses caring for terminally ill patients in a public hospital, South Korea. Measures were the general and job-related characteristics list, the end-of-life care stress scale, the Well-Dying Awareness Scale (WDAS), Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), and end-of-life care performance scale. Data were collected from February to April, 2025, and were analyzed using SPSS/WIN 29.0 program.

RESULTS

A positive correlation emerged between perception of a good death and end-of-life care performance (r = 0.19, p = 0.019). Department, end-of-life care education, and perception of a good death were statistically significant factors influencing end-of-life care performance. The explanatory power of the regression model was 12.1% (Adj. R2 = 0.121).

CONCLUSIONS

Department, end-of-life care education, and perception of a good death were significant factors associated with end-of-life care performance of public hospital nurses.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Expanding access to end-of-life care education and fostering a positive perception of good death among public hospital nurses are important strategies for improving end-of-life care performance. Nurse managers should ensure equitable access to end-of-life care education across all departments and create supportive organizational environments that encourage nurses to reflect on death-related experiences.