Nurses´ Attitudes Towards Dying and Death

E-mail: dordevic2407@gmail.com

https://doi.org/10.24141/2/6/2/4

Keywords: death, nurses, attitude

Abstract

Introduction. Death means the irreversible termina- tion of the organism’s vital activities. Dying presents an irreversible state of an incurable disease from which death is expected in due time. The experience of meaning in life is defined as the degree to which an individual understands and sees significance in his life, how and to what extent he feels purpose in life.

Aim. The aim of this research was to determine the role of demographic characteristics (gender, age,

level of education, religiosity), their relationship with the experience of meaning in the life of nurses, and the relationship between the attitudes of nurses to- wards death and dying with the experience of mean- ing in life.

Methods. The research was conducted in the period from May to June 2022. The survey was composed of three parts, and was posted on the Facebook so- cial network in the group named Nurses together. A total of 240 participants took part in the research, of which 185 were female nurses and 55 were male nurses, with an average age of 33.05 years (SD=10.10). The instruments that were used in the research were the Purpose in Life Test and Death At- titude Profile – Revised.

Results. The obtained results do not indicate that women perceive their life as more meaningful com- pared to men. Also, healthcare professionals with a higher level of education perceive their life to be sig- nificantly more meaningful compared to healthcare professionals with secondary education. Regarding the relationship between the experience of meaning in life and some concepts of acceptance of death, it has been proven that a greater experience of mean- ing in life can be found in respondents who consider death as a natural process of the journey towards the afterlife. The degree of religiosity was not sig- nificantly related to the perception of the meaning of life.

Conclusion. Further research is needed to investi- gate the determinants of mortality in order to more scientifically determine the perception of the experi- ence of meaning in life and attitudes towards death and dying among nurses. The importance of such re- search is reflected in the effort to raise awareness of the usefulness of the experience of meaning in life in the complete functioning of the individual and the quality of life.