Relationship between Death Coping and Death Cognition and Meaning in Life among Nurses: A Cross-Sectional Study.

To explore nurses' ability to cope with death and its relationship with death cognition and meaning in life in the context of Chinese traditional culture. 1146 nurses from six tertiary hospitals were recruited. Participants completed the Coping with Death Scale, the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, and the self-made Death Cognition Questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the search for meaning, the understanding of "good death", receiving education related to life-and-death, cultural aspect, the presence of meaning, and the number of patient deaths experienced in career explained 20.3% of the variance in the ability to cope with death. Lacking a correct understanding of death, nurses are not sufficiently prepared to deal with death and their ability to cope with death is influenced by the unique cognition of death and the sense of the meaning in life in the context of Chinese traditional culture.

New graduate nurses' coping with death and the relationship with death self-efficacy and death anxiety: A multicentre cross-sectional study.

AIMS: To examine new graduate nurses' perceptions of competency on coping with dying and death and the relationship with death self-efficacy and death anxiety. DESIGN: A multicentre, cross-sectional study. METHODS: Three hundred and forty new graduate nurses from five metropolitan hospitals were recruited between August-November 2018. Participants completed the Coping with Death Scale, Death Self-efficacy Scale, and Death Anxiety Scale. RESULTS: Two hundred and ninety-eight new graduate nurses responded to the survey. The mean score of coping with death and death self-efficacy was 120.11 (SD 24.59), 259.11 (SD 57.70) respectively. 88.9% feared a painful death, 81.5% were particularly afraid of getting cancer, and 80.2% were afraid of death. There was a positive relationship between coping with death and death self-efficacy, a negative relationship between coping with death and death anxiety and a negative correlation between death self-efficacy and death anxiety. Five variables, including death self-efficacy, three dimensions of death anxiety including emotion, cognition with life and death and stress and distress and religion in total accounted for 46.9% of the variance of coping with death. CONCLUSION: New graduate nurses are at a disadvantage in terms of death self-efficacy, less well prepared in coping with death and are more anxious about death. IMPACT: It is imperative for educational institutions to support new graduate nurses with pre-licensure learning related to patient death issues and care. Organizations are also strongly advised to support new graduate nurses to cope with patient death through development of culturally sensitive interventions and guidelines, which may in turn assist with decreasing new graduate nurses' risk of burnout and increasing their longevity in the profession.

How social support affects the ability of clinical nursing personnel to cope with death.

AIM: The aim of this study was to explore how social support has an impact on nursing personnel's coping ability when they are faced with a death in a clinical situation. BACKGROUND: The amount of social support may have an impact on nursing personnel's ability to cope with patient deaths. METHODS: Overall, 323 effective questionnaires were returned. Their respective scores calculated according to the Death Coping Self-Efficacy Scale and Social Support Scale, using hierarchical regression for a statistical test. RESULTS: With regard to identification of coping with grief, the length of service of nurses (3-4.9 years vs 1-2.9 years) (ß = -0.15, p = .020) and unit type (oncology ward vs general medicine ward) (ß = 0.15, p = .009) reached significance. Following the control of basic attributes, social support can effectively influence their preparation for death, of which peer support reached significance (ß = 0.27, p < .001). Moreover, social support can also affect one's ability to cope with death; specifically, peer support reached significance (ß = 0.23, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Support provided by supervisors and peers have a positive impact on the nursing personnel when nurses are providing hospice care for the terminally ill. Furthermore, sufficient support from colleagues can be an important source of comfort for clinical nursing personnel to manage their preparation for and overall strategies to cope with the death of patients.

A Brief Measure for the Assessment of Competence in Coping With Death: The Coping With Death Scale Short Version.

CONTEXT: The coping with death competence is of great importance for palliative care professionals, who face daily exposure to death. It can keep them from suffering compassion fatigue and burnout, thus enhancing the quality of the care provided. Despite its relevance, there are only two measures of professionals' ability to cope with death. Specifically, the Coping with Death Scale (CDS) has repeatedly shown psychometric problems with some of its items. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to develop and validate a short version of the CDS. METHODS: Nine items from the original CDS were chosen for the short version. Two cross-sectional surveys were conducted in Spanish (N = 385) and Argentinian (N = 273) palliative care professionals. The CDS and the Professional Quality of Life Scale were used in this study. Statistical analyses included two confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs), followed by a standard measurement invariance routine. Reliability estimates and evidence of validity based on relations with other measures were also gathered. RESULTS: CFA models had excellent fit in both the Spanish (χ2(27) = 107.043, P < 0.001; Comparative Fit Index [CFI] = 0.978; Tucker-Lewis Index [TLI] = 0.970; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation [RMSEA] = 0.093 [0.075, 0.112]; Standardized Root Mean Square Residual = 0.030) and Argentinian (χ2(27) = 102.982, P < 0.001; CFI = 0.963; TLI = 0.950; RMSEA = 0.106 [0.085, 0.128]) samples. A standard measurement invariance routine was carried out. The most parsimonious model (χ2(117) = 191.738, P < 0.001; CFI = 0.987; TLI = 0.992; RMSEA = 0.046 [0.034, 0.058]; Standardized Root Mean Square Residual = 0.043) offered evidence of invariance across countries, with no latent mean differences. Evidence of reliability and evidence of validity based on relations with other measures were also appropriate. CONCLUSION: Results indicated the psychometric boundaries of the short version of the CDS.

Panorama da Qualidade de Vida Profissional entre Trabalhadores que Prestam Cuidados Paliativos no Brasil / Panorama de la Calidad de Vida Laboral entre Trabajadores que Prestan Cuidados Paliativos en Brasil / Overview of the Quality of Work Life of Palliative Caregivers in Brazil

Resumo Este artigo tem por objetivo oferecer um primeiro diagnóstico sobre os níveis de qualidade de vida dos trabalhadores brasileiros que prestam cuidados paliativos. Foram aplicadas escalas de medidas de qualidade de vida profissional, en-frentamento ante a morte, autocuidado profissional e autoconsciência em 161 profissionais. As análises de dados incluíram estatísticas descritivas, comparação dos níveis em função de sexo, idade e outras características sociodemográficas, e estudo da relação entre as variáveis mencionadas. Foram encontrados níveis adequados tanto nas variáveis de proteção da qualidade de vida profissional como na qualidade de vida em si. As comparações em função de dados sociodemográ-ficos mostraram relações estatisticamente significativas entre os níveis de autoconsciência e o sexo (maiores os níveis para os homens); e entre a idade e os anos de experiência como profissional da saúde ou de cuidados paliativos (maiores níveis quando há uma maior experiência como profissional).

Resumen El artículo tiene como propósito ofrecer un primer diagnóstico sobre los niveles de calidad de vida de los trabajadores brasileños que prestan cuidados paliativos. Se aplicaron escalas de medidas de calidad de vida laboral, afrontamiento ante la muerte, autocuidado profesional y autoconciencia en 161 profesionales. El análisis de datos incluyó estadísticas descriptivas, comparación de niveles según género, edad y otras características sociodemográficas, y estudio de la relación entre las variables mencionadas. Se encontraron niveles adecuados tanto en las variables de protección de la calidad de vida laboral como en la calidad de vida misma. Las comparaciones según datos sociodemográficos evidenciaron relaciones estadísticamente significativas entre los niveles de autoconciencia y sexo (más altos los niveles para los hombres); y entre la edad y los años de experiencia como profesional de la salud o cuidados paliativos (niveles más altos cuando hay una mayor experiencia como profesional).

Abstract The objective of the article is to provide an initial diagnosis regarding the quality of life of Brazilian palliative caregivers. The following measurement scales were applied in a group of 161 professionals: quality of work life, coping with death, professional self-care, and self-awareness. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, comparison of levels according to sex, age, and other socio-demographic characteristics, and a study of the relation among those variables. Adequate levels were found in both the levels of protection of quality of work life and quality of life itself. The comparisons according to socio-demographic data showed statistically significant relations between the self-awareness levels and sex (which were higher for men), and between age and years of experience as healthcare professionals or palliative caregivers (levels were higher in the case of greater professional experience).