Analysis on impact factors affecting on clinical nurses toward caring for the dying and measures for improvement / 中国实用护理杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To evaluate the attitudes of clinical nurses toward caring for the dying patients, and possible influencing factors concerning the attitudes were investigated, so as to provide a scientific basis for further intervention, thus improving the positive attitudes toward care of the dying patients in the future research. Methods A convenience sampling method was used to recruit 770 nurses from 15 hospitals located in 5 provinces in China. A demographic survey, Chinese version of Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying Scale Form B (FATCOD-B-C) and Chinese version Death Attitude Profile-Revised were employed in the survey. Results FATCOD-B-C scale was used to evaluate the attitudes of nurses toward caring for dying patients, with the mean score of all FATCOD-B-C item being 95.62 ± 7.45. To analyze relationship among demographic variables and the total score of FATCOD-B-C. Univariate analysis revealed that age group (F=2.285), years employed as a nurse (F=3.353), educational background (F=5.581), technical title (F=5.692), level of hospital (t=2.058), religious beliefs (t=-2.788), previous education on death and dying(F=9.743), previous experience in dealing with terminally ill persons (t=2.761) had significant influence on the nurses' attitudes toward caring for dying patients and families(P<0.05). Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that nurses' attitudes toward caring for dying patients had been affected by those factors, among which the most influential factor was educational background. Conclusions It shows that nurses'FATCOD-B-C scores are at a low level. It is suggested to improve nurses' positive attitudes of caring for dying patients and their families by making the specific methods based on the influencing factors, thus improving the development of palliative care.