New Graduate Nurses’ Approaches to Death and Dying Patients and the Relationship Between Death Anxiety and Death Awareness: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background One of the challenges experienced by new graduate nurses during the transition into practice is caring for dying patients. This study aimed to determine new graduate nurses’ approaches to death and dying patients and the relationship between death anxiety and death awareness. Methods This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with 226 new graduate nurses in Istanbul, Türkiye. A personal and work environment characteristics form, the Approach to Death and Dying Patients Attitude Scale, Templer’s Death Anxiety Scale, and Multidimensional Mortality Awareness Measure were used to collect data. Results Hardness in communicating with the dying patients (hardness: meaning difficulty) and their relatives and avoiding death and dying patients were considered moderate, with mean scores of 2.64 ± .63 and 2.45 ± .40, out of 4. Death anxiety accounted for approximately 7% of the variance of hardness in communicating with dying patients and their relatives, which is statistically significant. Death awareness statistically significantly explained 9.7% of avoiding death and dying patients. Conclusion For new graduate nurses, besides simulation-based training on end-of-life care, approaches to sharing their experiences about death and programs to determine a value system related to death may be recommended.