Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effect of Terminal Patient Care Training on the Nurses’ Attitudes Toward Death in an Oncology Hospital in Turkey

  • Published:
Journal of Cancer Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This is an experimental research aiming at identifying the effect of terminal patient care training on the nurses’ attitudes toward death. The sample of this study (n = 41) involves 20 nurses in the training group and 21 nurses in the control group. Nurses were offered terminal patient care training and their attitudes toward death were assessed before and after the intervention. The Death Attitude Profile-Revised (DAP-R) subscale mean scores for fear of death (3.9–4.6, p < .05) and approach acceptance (2.9–3.3, p < .05) were found to significantly increase at the end of training in the training group while mean scores in the control group displayed no significant change (p > .05) in any of the five DAP-R subscales. In accordance with these findings, this study suggests that terminal patient care training should be implemented in the nursing curriculum more extensively and should be frequently repeated as part of the nurses’ in-service education.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Ay FA (2011) Basic concepts and skills in health care practice. Nobel Press, İstanbul, pp 698–699

    Google Scholar 

  2. Öz F (2004) Basic concepts in health. İmaj Press, Ankara, pp 306–316

    Google Scholar 

  3. Akdemir N, Birol L (2003) Patient care in the terminal stage, internal diseases and nursing care. Sanerc, İstanbul, pp 207–211

  4. Çavdar İ (2011) Care of the cancer patient in the terminal period. Turk J Oncol 26:142–147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Bahar A (2007) The dying patient: terminal care and hospice. J Fırat Health Serv 2:147–158

  6. Terakye G (1995) Nurse patient relationship. Aydoğdu Press, Ankara

    Google Scholar 

  7. Rooda LA, Clements R, Jordan ML (1999) Nurses’ attitudes toward death and caring for dying patients. Oncol Nurs Forum 26:1683–1687

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Cui J, Shen F, Xiuqiang M, Jijun Z (2011) What do nurses want to learn from death education? A survey of their needs. Oncol Nurs Forum 38:402–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Koç Z, Sağlam Z (2008) Determining the emotions and opinions of nursing students related to end-of-life care and death state. Cumhuriyet Univ J Sch Nurs 12:1–10

    Google Scholar 

  10. Braun M, Gordon D, Uziely B (2010) Associations between oncology nurses’ attitudes toward death and caring for dying patients. Oncol Nurs Forum 37:E43–E49

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Meraviglia MG, McGuire C, Chesley DA (2003) Nurses’ needs for education on cancer and end-of-life care. J Contin Educ Nurs 34:122–127

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Lange M, Thom B, Kline NE (2008) Assessing nurses’ attitudes toward death and caring for dying patients in a comprehensive cancer center. Oncol Nurs Forum 35:955–959

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Ersoy N (2009) Ethics in oncology nursing. Turk J Oncol 24(4):191–197

    Google Scholar 

  14. Yiğit R (1998) Helping the patient and his/her family to cope with death. J Sch Nurs 2:9–15

    Google Scholar 

  15. Hainsworth DS (1996) The effect of death education on attitudes of hospital nurses toward care of the dying. Oncol Nurs Forum 23:963–967

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Frommelt KH (1991) The effects of death education on nurses’ attitudes toward caring for terminally ill persons and their families. Am J Hosp Pallia Care 8:37–43

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Wessel EM, Rutledge DN (2005) Home care and hospice nurses’ attitudes toward death and caring for the dying effects of palliative care education. J Hosp Palliat Nurs 7:212–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Mallory JL (2003) The impact of a palliative care educational component on attitudes toward care of the dying in under graduate nursing students. J Prof Nurs 19:305–312

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Matsui M, Braun K (2010) Nurses’ and care workers’ attitudes toward death and caring for dying older adults in Japan. Int J Palliat Nurs 16:593–598

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. İnci F, Öz F (2009) Effect of death education on nurses’ death anxiety, depression regarding death, and attitudes towards the dying patient. Anatolian J Psychiatry 10:253–260

    Google Scholar 

  21. İnci F, Öz F (2012) Palliative care and death anxiety. Curr Approaches Psychiatry 4:178–187

    Google Scholar 

  22. Wong PTP, Reker GT, Gesser G (1994) Death attitude profile revised: a multidimensional measure of attitudes toward death. In: Neimeyer RA (ed) Death Anxiety Handbook: Research, Instrumentation, and Application. Taylor & Francis, Washington, DC, pp 121–148

    Google Scholar 

  23. Çevik B, Kav S (2012) Attitudes and experiences of nurses toward death and caring for dying patients in Turkey. Cancer Nurs 13:1–7

    Google Scholar 

  24. Kuppelomaki M, Lauri S (2000) Cancer patients’ reported experiences of suffering. Clin J Oncol Nurs 4:45–46

    Google Scholar 

  25. Redinbaugh EM, Schuerger JM, Weiss LL, Brufsky A, Arnold R (2001) Health care professionals’ grief: a model based on occupational style and coping. Psycho-Oncology 10:187–198

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Malliarou M, Pavlos S, Kiriaki A, Tatiana A, Kostantinia K, Eleni M, Eleni T (2011) Greek nurses attitudes towards death. Glob J Health Sci 3:224–230

    Google Scholar 

  27. Gama G, Barbosa F, Vieria M (2012) Factors influencing nurses’ attitudes toward death. Int J Palliat Nurs 18:267–273

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Abu Hasheesh MO, Abozeid S, El-Said SG, Alhujaili AD (2013) Nurses’ characteristics and their attitudes toward death and caring for dying patients in a public hospital in Jordan. Health Sci J 7:384–394

  29. Black K (2007) Health care professionals’s death attitudes, experiences and advance directive communication behavior. Death Stud 31:563–572

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Dunn K, Otten C, Stephens E (2005) Nursing experience and the care of dying patients. Oncol Nurs Forum 32:97–104

  31. Conner NE, Loerzelv W, Uddin N (2014) Nursing students end-of-life care attitudes after an online death and dying course. J Hosp Palliat Nurs 16:374–382

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Frommelt KHM (2003) Attitudes toward care of the terminally ill: an educational intervention. Am J Hosp Palliat Care 20:13–22

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Internal Diseases Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Erciyes University, 38039, Kayseri, Turkey

    Songül Göriş, Sultan Taşcı, Özlem Ceyhan & Pınar Tekinsoy Kartın

  2. Department of Psychiatry Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Yıldırım Beyazıt University, 38039, Ankara, Turkey

    Birgül Özkan

  3. Oncology Hospital, Erciyes University, 38039, Kayseri, Turkey

    Aliye Çeliksoy

  4. Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Erciyes University, 38039, Kayseri, Turkey

    Ferhan Elmalı

  5. Department of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Erciyes University, 38039, Kayseri, Turkey

    Bülent Eser

Authors
  1. Songül Göriş
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Sultan Taşcı
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Birgül Özkan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Özlem Ceyhan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Pınar Tekinsoy Kartın
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Aliye Çeliksoy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Ferhan Elmalı
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Bülent Eser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Songül Göriş.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethics Approval

In order to conduct the research, ethical approvals from Erciyes University the Clinical Research Ethical Board (2013/219) were obtained. After the nurses were informed about the aims of the study, they submitted their written consent statements declaring their voluntary participation in the study. This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (revised October 2000).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Göriş, S., Taşcı, S., Özkan, B. et al. Effect of Terminal Patient Care Training on the Nurses’ Attitudes Toward Death in an Oncology Hospital in Turkey. J Canc Educ 32, 65–71 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-015-0929-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-015-0929-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation