A Study on the Attitudes toward Death of the Elderly People

노인들의 죽음에 대한 태도 조사 연구

This study was designed to investigate the elderly people's attitude toward death for the purpose of identifying the issues needed in the planning of health management and care activities for the aged. The total number of subjects in this study was 354 elderly people who were accommodated in house for elderly people (185) and school for elderly people (169). The scale for the attitude toward death of aged persons as an instrument of this study was mainly constructed with reference to Schneidman's attitude questioners toward death modified of adjust the Korean cultural characteristics and attitudes concerning death. Theresultsofthisstudywereasfollows: - 1. Out of total 45.8% of the respondents consider that death is a natural phenomena and ending of life. The responses on the meaning of death appeared differently : non-religions (48.1%) and oriental religions (50.3%) consider death as a natural phenomena however western religions (47.4%) consider that death is God's call. This difference was statistically significant. (x$^2$= 56.6419. df = 10. p<0.01). Respondents with a spouses (52.4%) think death is a natural phenomena opposed to respondent without spouses (33.3%). This was statistically significant. (x$^2$= 14.7134. df= 5 p<0.05). 2. Respondents in the house for aged persons (51.9%) replied. They do not wanted death because it meant a separation from their family as compared to those from school for aged persons (26.0%). 57.9% responded that they want to be told when death is confronted. 3. 51.2% of the respondents replied that the main factor to influence their attitude toward concept of death was the dying of their friends & relatives. 79.9% of respondents expressed that wished to die. The main reason for dying was economic shortage (28.3%). 4. 70.1% of the respondents want their body to be hurried while only 1.1% of the respondents want to donate their body to a medical research. 5. Over two thirds of the respondents replied that they do not believe in a life in heaven or that they will be rebirth. 6. The questioners of this study stimulated 56.8% of the respondents to feel that they should spend the leu of their life more effectively and 15.5% of the respondents felt it gave them the opportunity to think about their death seriously.