This study is an investigative study to examine the awareness on a good death among the caretakers, nurses, and prospective old people, as well as the knowledge, attitude, and the required level of education for the preparation of the statement of lif...
This study is an investigative study to examine the awareness on a good death among the caretakers, nurses, and prospective old people, as well as the knowledge, attitude, and the required level of education for the preparation of the statement of life-sustaining care, so that the relationship between them can be examined and compared.
For this purpose, the prospective old people, caretakers, and nurses in general hospitals, long-term care facilities, and Geumbit Home Care Welfare Center located in the Chung Nam region were interviewed using questionnaires by convenience sampling. As a result, a total of 278 questionnaires were recovered. The data gathered were statistically analyzed using SPSS 25.0, and the demographic data, frequency, percentage, average, and standard deviations of the participants were calculated, and the differences there of were analyzed using x²-tests. The differences in the awareness on a good death, as well as the knowledge, attitude, and the required level of education for preparing a statement of life-sustaining care among caretakes, nurses, and prospective old people were analyzed using t-tests and ANOVA methods. The correlations between the awareness on a good death and the knowledge, attitude, and required level of education for preparing the statement of life-sustaining care were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficients.
The results of this study were as follows;
1. The comparison of the knowledge, attitude, and level of education required for the preparation of the statement on life-sustaining care as well as the awareness on a good death between the prospective old people, caretakes, and nurses did not show a significant difference. The knowledge, attitude, and level of education required for the preparation of the statement on life-sustaining care differed significantly between the groups.
2. The knowledge, attitude, and the level of education required for the preparation of the statement on life-sustaining care and the awareness on a good death by the general characteristics of the participants showed that the age, hospice training, and awareness on the laws on the decision regarding life-sustaining care contributed to significant differences. The level of knowledge on the statement on life-sustaining care showed a significant difference depending on the health, awareness on hospice, hospice education, and awareness on the laws on the decision regarding life-sustaining care. The attitude toward the statement on life-sustaining care showed a significant difference depending on the hospice training and the awareness of the laws regarding life-sustaining care. The level of required education on the statement of life-sustaining care showed a significant difference depending on the awareness on hospice, hospice education, awareness on the laws related to life-sustaining care, the experience of observing someone’s death, or previous experience of preparing a statement on life-sustaining care.
The awareness level on a good death depending on the general characteristics of caretakes differed significantly depending on the previous experience of preparing a statement on life-sustaining care. The knowledge level on the statement on life-sustaining care turned out to differ significantly based on the disease currently treating, awareness on hospice, and awareness on the laws regarding the decision on life-sustaining care.
The level of awareness on a good death among nurses differed significantly depending on the age, hospice education, awareness on the laws concerning the decisions on the life-sustaining care, experience of watching someone die, the experience of preparing a statement on life-sustaining care, and experience of preparing a will. The level of knowledge on the statement on life-sustaining care differed significantly depending on their age, hospice training, awareness on the laws on the decision on the life-sustaining care, experience of watching someone die, and experience of preparing a will. The attitude toward the statement on life-sustaining care differed significantly depending on the gender, hospice training, experience of watching someone die, the experience of preparing a statement on life-sustaining care, and the experience of preparing a will. The level of required education for the preparation of a statement on life-sustaining care differed significantly depending on the age, gender, awareness on the laws on the decisions on life-sustaining care, the experience of watching someone die, the experience of preparing a statement on life-sustaining care, and experience of preparing a will. The required level of education for preparing a statement on life-sustaining care differed significantly depending on the age, gender, awareness on the laws on the decisions regarding life-sustaining care, the experience of watching someone die, the experience of preparing a statement on life-sustaining care, and experience of preparing a will.
3. In the entirety of the participants, the result of the comparison of the relationships between the awareness of a good death and the knowledge, attitude, and required level of education for preparing a statement on life-sustaining care showed that the awareness on a good death, the knowledge, attitude, and required level of education for preparing a statement on life-sustaining care were all positively correlated. As for the caretakes, the awareness on a good death and the attitude toward the statement on life-sustaining care were positively correlated; the attitude and the required level of education for the statement on life-sustaining care were positively correlated, as well. As for the nurses and their awareness on a good death and the knowledge, attitude, and required level of education for preparing a statement on life-sustaining care, the knowledge was positively correlated to the attitude toward the statement on life-sustaining care, while the attitude toward the statement on life-sustaining care was positively correlated with the required level of education for the statement on life-sustaining care.
Based on the findings above, it could be said that the prospective old people and nurses had a positive tendency in terms of the knowledge, attitude, and required level of education on the statement on life-sustaining care as their awareness on death was more positive. As for the caretakes, more positive awareness of death resulted in a more positive attitude toward the statement on life-sustaining care. Also, with a more positive attitude toward the statement on life-sustaining care, the caretakes had a higher level of required education for the statement on life-sustaining care. The prospective old people and nurses showed a higher level of required education and attitude toward the statement on life-sustaining care as they were more knowledgeable on the statement on life-sustaining care. Therefore, it is believed to be necessary to enhance the awareness on death among the prospective old people, caretakes, and nurses, in addition to the development of the education programs on the awareness of a good death and hospice education, which can enhance the knowledge level on the statement on life-sustaining care.