Résumé
PURPOSE: To improve the family functioning, fear of death and depression among the terminally ill cancer patients, the effects of letter as an independent nursing intervention were identified. METHODS: Non-equivalent control group pre and post test design was used. Subjects were 60 patients and their family members who were hospitalized at hospice units of an university-affiliated hospital. Patients and their family members were encouraged to write a letter to each other at least 4 times for 2 weeks. RESULTS: Family functioning, fear of death and depression in the experimental group were significantly more improved after intervention than those of control group, even depression of experimental group before intervention was worse than that of control group. CONCLUSION: Writing a letter to family members is worth to use as an independent nursing intervention for terminally ill patients. It is recommended that further study to identify the potential of letters as an independent nursing intervention is implemented for various patients.