The Effects of a Hospice Palliative Education Program on Perception of Hospice, Attitude to Death, and Meaning of Life in Adults / 한국호스피스완화의료학회지

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of a hospice palliative education program for adults on their perception of hospice, attitude towards death, and meaning of life. METHODS: This study was a quasi-experimental study with a non-equivalent control group design. Among 43 participants, 22 were assigned to the non-equivalent experimental group and 21 to the control group. The hospice palliative education program comprised 10 three-hour sessions, each given once a week. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, t-test and χ2-test using SPSS version 20.0. RESULTS: Significant differences between the experimental and control groups were observed in their perception of hospice (t=6.63, P < 0.001), attitude towards death (t=2.36, P=0.023), and meaning of life (t=5.06, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The results indicate that this education program could positively affect the perception of hospice, attitude toward death, and meaning of life in adults. More studies are warranted to explore the effects of this education program for various age groups so that it may help more people get positive understanding of hospice palliative care. The results suggest this program could help improve the negative perception of hospice, negative attitude towards death and meaning of life that are generally held by the public.