• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.108-117
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• 2013

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to 1) explore nurses' attitudes toward death, coping with death, understanding and performance regarding end-of-life (EOL) care, 2) describe correlations among the above factors, and 3) determine the factors affecting nurses' EOL care performance. Methods: Study participants were 187 nurses stationed at departments that post higher mortality than others such as the oncology department, intensive care unit (ICU) and emergency department (ED). Data were collected from three urban university-affiliated hospitals. Multi-dimensional measure was performed for study instruments such as "attitude toward death", "coping with death" and "understanding and performance regarding EOL care". Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, correlation, and multiple regressions. Results: First, nurses showed significantly different attitudes toward death by age, religion, work unit and EOL care education. Younger nurses tend to score low on the understanding of EOL care, and ED nurses' score was lower than their peers at the oncology department and ICU. Second, EOL care performance was positively correlated with attitude toward death (P<0.001), coping with death (P=0.003) and understanding of EOL care (P<0.001). Third, nurses' EOL care performance was affected by work unit (P<0.001) and understanding of EOL care (P<0.001). Conclusion: Because nurses' performance was influenced by their work unit and understanding of EOL care, they should be provided with appropriate training to improve their understanding of death and EOL care according to work unit.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.45 no.6
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• pp.802-811
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to test and validate a model to predict living and brain death organ donation intention in nursing students. The conceptual model was based on the theory planned behavior. Methods: Quota sampling methodology was used to recruit 921 nursing students from all over the country and data collection was done from October 1 to December 20, 2013. Results: The model fit indices for the hypothetical model were suitable for the recommended level. Knowledge, attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control explained 40.2% and 40.1% respectively for both living and brain death organ donation intention. Subjective norm was the most direct influential factor for organ donation intention. Knowledge had significant direct effect on attitude and indirect effect on subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. These effects were higher in brain death organ donation intention than in living donation intention. Conclusion: The overall findings of this study suggest the need to develop systematic education programs to increases knowledge about brain death organ donation. The development, application, and evaluation of intervention programs are required to improve subjective norm.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.103-115
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• 2020

Purpose: This descriptive study investigated the relationship between death awareness and life ethics awareness, according to life stress, among students in the department of paramedics. Methods: General characteristics were identified using means and frequency, and the differences between the two military models were analyzed using the χ²-test and t-test by dividing them into lower and higher groups based on the mean life stress score (99.76 points). Results: Those with high life stress had higher death awareness than those with low life stress at 114.11 points. In contrast, those with low life ethics experienced more severe life stress with a score of 145.61 points (t=-2.609, p=.010)(t=-2.953, p=.003). The death recognition attitude and bioethics according to the degree of living stress-showed a significant correlation between the low and high groups (r=.188, p=.043) (r=.201, p=.042). Conclusion: Paramedic students require education on how to cope with life stress. However, access to education is limited to people living in modern times. As a potential solution to this problem, observing videos on the Internet is recommended. Moreover, we suggest accessing Internet and smart phone applications for advertising/educational purposes.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.473-483
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• 2002

The purpose of this study was to explore the attitude of student nurses to euthanasia. The convenient sample for this study consisted of 293 nursing students at a nursing college in Kyeongi Province. The data were collected from Oct. 15, 2002 to Oct. 30, 2002 and were analyzed using frequency, percentage, and $X^2$-test with the SAS package. The results of this study are as follow : 77.1% of students agreed to passive euthanasia and 70.6% subjects agreed to legalization of passive euthanasia. 78.5% of students can given an exact explanation of the concept of hospice. They obtained information about hospice from the mass media (1.1%), books (30.0%), friends and neighbors (3.4%), and religious groups (2.4%). The preferred place for death was reported to be home (75.4%), hospital (9.4%) or a peaceful place (6.3%). Fears of facing death were suffering in death (23.4%), grief of remaining family (21.2%), unknown about the other world (10.0%), separation from people who are loved (9.7%), forgotten from the people's memory(6.3%). In conclusion, the attitude of student nurses toward passive euthanasia approached a positive direction. But euthanasia was seen as dangerous and having multiple problems. Therefore the training for student nurses as health professionals should include content on dealing with hospice care and euthanasia.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.37-52
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to compare the differences of attitude to death and perception on HPC between nursing and medical students. The data was collected by questionnaires and the period of data collection was from September 17 to October 12, 2012. The results were as followings. Statistically significant differences were found course of knowing HPC(${\chi}^2$=24.29, p<.001), reason of unactive introduction(${\chi}^2$=15.92, p=.003), having to CPR in irresponsive terminal situation to you(${\chi}^2$=4.62, p=.032) and to your family(${\chi}^2$=5.64, p=.018), decision-making about DNR(${\chi}^2$=12.28, p=.002), awareness to medical authority legal representative(${\chi}^2$=14.75, p<.001), awareness (${\chi}^2$=11.01, p=.001) and subject(${\chi}^2$=24.73, p<.001) of AD, addiction(p<.001), tolerance(p<.001), taking a point(${\chi}^2$=23.28, p<.001) of narcotic analgesics and control of pain(p=.532). The findings of the study provides the basis for expanding practice and education to hospice-palliative care for nursing and medical students.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.285-293
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• 2015

Purpose: This study was conducted to explore the effects of attitude to death in hospice and palliative professionals on their terminal care stress, and to analyze relationships among variables related to the two aforementioned parameters, such as depression and coping strategies. Methods: Participants were 131 hospice and palliative professionals from the cancer units of two tertiary hospitals and two general hospitals, two hospice facilities, two geriatric hospitals, and two convalescent hospitals in J province. Data were collected from April through June 2015 and analyzed using t-test, factor analysis, ANOVA ($Scheff{\acute{e}}$ test), ANCOVA, and Pearson's correlation and a path analysis using the SPSS/WIN 21.0 and AMOS 18.0 programs. Results: The score for attitude to death was low (2.63), and that for depression was 0.45. Among all, 16.0% of the participants showed need for depression management. They scored 3.82 on terminal care stress. The subcategory with the highest mark was inner conflicts on limitation given availability of medical services (4.04). The score on coping strategy was low (3.13). They used passive coping strategies such as interpersonal avoidance (4.03), fulfilling basic needs (3.65) such as sleeping or eating. Attitudes to death had a direct negative effect on the terminal care stress level and indirectly affected through depression and fulfilling basic needs (CS2). Conclusion: It is necessary to provide hospice and palliative professionals with education on death and dying, as well as access to programs that provide emotional support and promote positive cognition of death and dying.

• Korean Journal of Hospice Care
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.15-25
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to survey the hospital staff's perception of hospice and death and thereby, suggest the ways to help them have a mature attitude towards and a better understanding of death through an effective education on hospice. For this purpose, this study was designed to provide some data useful for the hospital staff not experienced in facing the dying patients to handle the desperate situation skillfully and engage themselves more effectively in their hospice services. For this study, the researcher conducted a questionnaire survey for the staff of 'C' hospital in Seoul about their hospice philosophy, attitudes towards hospice and perception of death for the period from February, 2006 to March, 2006. A total of 751 subjects responded effectively to the survey. The data collected were analyzed using the SF55 11.0 for ANOVA and T-test in order to test the relationships among subjects' perception of death, their demographic variables, their health condition, their hospice philosophy formed from their experiences of patients' death and hospice services and their attitudes towards hospice. Besides, the correlations among their hospice philosophy, perception of death and attitudes towards hospice were tested. The results of this study can be summarized as follows; First, as a result of testing the relationships among subjects' experiences of health consulting. their experiences of patients' death and hospice and their hospice philosophy, it was confirmed that their experiences of health and death consulting and their experiences of having been educated were relevant. Second, it was found that such variables as health condition, death, experience of hospice and attitude towards hospice were not significantly correlated with each other. Third, as a consequence of testing the relationships among health condition, death, experience of hospice and perception of death, it was disclosed that only the physical health condition was significant. Fourth, it was confirmed that subjects' hospice philosophy, perception of death and attitudes towards hospice were at the usual level on average. Fifth, hospice philosophy, perception of death and attitudes towards hospice were found correlated significantly with each other. Sixth, as a result of the stepwise variable adjustment for such variables as hospice philosophy, perception of death, attitudes towards hospice, it was found that the adjusted r-square value was 0.347 when departments, experience of having been requested by dying patient for consulting, experience of having been educated on hospice, religion and marital status were set as independent variables. And the estimated value of each variable was found significant. Seventh, as a consequence of conducting the multiple regression analysis by setting 'religion' as significant independent variable, it was found that the estimated value of physical health condition was not significant statistically. This, as a result of the simple regression analysis for 'religion' only, its explanatory power was found .197, while its adjusted r-square value was 0.20. Eight, it was found that subjects' attitude towards hospice was significantly correlated with such variables of experience of patient's or relative's death, experience of having been requested for consulting about death, gender, marital status and departments. As a result of the multiple regression analysis and the subsequent stepwise adjustment for this variable, it was found that only 'experience of having been requested for consulting' had some explanatory power: its adjusted r-square value was 0.089. As discussed above, this study tested the correlations among various variables including hospital staff's attitude towards hospice and perception of death and thereby, provided for the data useful for their education on hospice. This study may be significant in that it proved that it would be essential to educate hospital staff on hospice for more effective care of hospice patients and their family members at hospital.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.265-273
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• 2017

This study is convergence study to identify the relationships among attitude toward death(ATD), spiritual well-being(SW) and awareness about organ donation(AAOD). The survey was performed on 214 nursing students in one university. Data was collected using a structured questionnaires and analysed with PASW 20.0. Study findings revealed that AAOD has a significant correlation with ATD and SW. ATD(${\beta}=-.159$), SW(${\beta}=.132$), idea about brain death's organ donation(${\beta}=.314$), and major satisfaction(${\beta}=.134$) about AAOD were most significant predictive variables. These variables accounted for 20.5% of the variance in AAOD. The findings indicate the necessity of developing educational programs to enhance nursing students's ATD and SW for increasing positive AAOD and further rate of organ donation, and follow-up study.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.144-151
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• 2011

Purpose: This study was conducted to compare nursing students' attitudes toward death, self-esteem and life satisfaction according to clinical experience. Methods: We surveyed 1,030 nursing students from two different universities with a questionnaire consisting of items regarding attitudes toward death, self-esteem and life satisfaction. The data were analyzed using a PASW program. Results: Students with clinical experience scored 2.85 on the attitude toward death, while those without clinical experience scored 2.79 (t=2.775, P=0.006). Students with clinical experience had significantly higher self-esteem (t=4.541, P<0.001) and life satisfaction (t=4.050, P<0.001) than those without it. Students with clinical experience showed correlations between attitude toward death and self-esteem (r=0.159, P<0.001) and life satisfaction (r=0.090, P=0.025), while those without it did not (r=0.106, P=0.014). Conclusion: These results provide guidance for developing educational strategies such as educational program to help students build positive attitude toward death through their experience in clinical practice.

• Journal of the Daesoon Academy of Sciences
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• v.16
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• pp.69-85
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• 2003

Death has been one of the basic objects in philosophy and religion. Why do people feel afraid about death? Maybe it is because they don't know the situation after death or because they have a wrong idea about it. Someone may think that he/she doesn't care the situation. But this attitude is wrong. We must understand that our attitude about life is shaped by our knowledge of the situation after death. A recurrent theme about death in popular thought is the idea that death is mysterious. As we have seen, it is difficult to formulate a satisfactory philosophical analysis of the concept of death. If it is impossible to analyse the concept of death, then it is impossible to explain precisely what we mean when we say that something dies. It might be said therefore that, in virtue of this fact, death is mysterious. Of course, death is not distinctively mysterious - all other unanalysable concepts are equally mysterious in this way. Reflection on death gives rise to a variety of philosophical questions. One of the deepest of these is a question about the nature of death. Typically, philosophers interpret this question as a call for an analysis or definition of the concept of death. Plato, for example, proposed to define death as the separation of soul from body. However, this definition is not acceptable to those who think that there are no souls. It is also unacceptable to anyone who thinks that plants and lower animals have no souls, but can nonetheless die. Others have defined death simply as the cessation of life. This too is problematic, since an organism that goes into suspended animation ceases to live, but may not actually die. The eastern philosophers proposed to define death as the nonduality of life and death. Taoists, for example, do not believe in the Wheel of Life of the Buddhists nor in the Heaven or Hell of Christianity. Taoists view existence as glorious. The whole Universe, they teach, is a marvelous, vibrant Unity wherein everything, visible and invisible, pulses with energy and changes. As being develops through the experience of existence, its vessels are swept onwards by the mighty stream of the eternal TAO to other forms of expression and activity. Man does not die; he merely extends into new fields. Taoists teach that the end of a person is the return to the Ultimate Reality. "Life is uncertain - Death is certain": This is a well known saying in Buddhism. Knowing very well that death is certain and it is a natural phenomenon that everyone has to face, we should not be afraid of death. Yet, instinctively, all of us fear death because we do not know how to think of its inevitability. We like to cling to our life and body and so develop too much craving and attachment.