hospice care ; stress ; advanced directives ; nurse ; attitude to death
Abstract
Nurses often play key roles in providing end-of-life care. The purpose of this study is to examine the
factors that influence end-of-life care delivered by nurses in South Korea. As a method, a cross-sectional
descriptive survey design was applied. The data were collected through self-reported questionnaires from
233 nurses working at intensive care units and medical-surgical wards of general hospitals in Seoul and
the Gyeonggi Province. The structured questionnaires measured end-of-life care performance, knowledge
of advanced directives, death awareness, and nursing stress. Data analysis was applied using Pearson’s
correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis using the SPSS/WIN 23 program. The predictive
variables that influence end-of-life care performance were as follows: good death awareness, educational
experience related to hospice care, nursing stress, and knowledge of advance directives. This explanatory
model was explained by 19.1% of variances. Based on this findings, we recommend developing a training
program for nurses to improve good death awareness, knowledge of advance directives, and strategies to
reduce nursing stress. Well-trained nurses may provide better care for patients at their end of lives.