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Nurses’ Attitudes Towards Death and Their Effects on Spirituality and Spiritual Care

Journal of Religion and Health volume 60, pages 153–161 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the effect of nurses’ attitudes towards death on spirituality and spiritual care. This is a descriptive and correlational study. There was a moderate correlation between the total score on the Spirituality and Spiritual Care Rating Scale and the total and subdimension scores on the Attitude Towards Death Scale. It was found that the scores on the subdimensions of objective acceptance, escaping/acceptance and fear of death explained 41.7% of nurses’ perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care. For holistic nursing care, it is very important that nurses are aware of their patients’ spiritual needs and are capable of providing supportive spiritual service without regard for their own attitudes towards or spiritual thoughts about death.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the elderly who took part in this study.

Funding

The author received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.

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Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Nursing, Dokuz Eylul University, Inciralti, 35340, Izmir, Turkey

    Aslı Akdeniz Kudubes, Murat Bektas & İlknur Bektas

  2. Day Chemotherapy Center, Balıkesir State Hospital, Balıkesir, Turkey

    Zülfiye Karakaş Akıl

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  1. Aslı Akdeniz Kudubes
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  2. Zülfiye Karakaş Akıl
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  3. Murat Bektas
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  4. İlknur Bektas
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Correspondence to Aslı Akdeniz Kudubes.

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Kudubes, A.A., Akıl, Z.K., Bektas, M. et al. Nurses’ Attitudes Towards Death and Their Effects on Spirituality and Spiritual Care. J Relig Health 60, 153–161 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00927-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-019-00927-2

Keywords

  • Death and dying
  • Nursing
  • Spirituality