The COVID-19 pandemic and nurses’ attitudes toward death

Authors

  • Maria Filomena Passos Teixeira Cardoso Universidade do Porto, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Porto, Portugal. Centro Hospitalar Universitário de São João, Direção de Enfermagem, Porto, Portugal. Universidade Fernando Pessoa, Departamento de Enfermagem, Porto, Portugal. http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5758-2310
  • Maria Manuela Ferreira Pereira da Silva Martins Universidade do Porto, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, Porto, Portugal. Centro de Investigação em Tecnologias e Serviços de Saúde, Grupo NursID, Porto, Portugal. http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1527-9940
  • Letícia de Lima Trindade Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Departamento de Enfermagem, Santa Catarina, SC, Brasil. Universidade Comunitária da Região de Chapecó, Santa Catarina, SC, Brasil. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7119-0230
  • Olga Maria Pimenta Lopes Ribeiro Escola Superior de Enfermagem do Porto, Porto, Portugal. Centro de Investigação em Tecnologias e Serviços de Saúde, Grupo NursID, Porto, Portugal. http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9982-9537
  • Esmeralda Faria Fonseca Centro Hospitalar Universitário de São João, Serviço de Medicina, Porto, Portugal. http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5862-8069

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/1518.8345.4769.3448

Keywords:

Attitude to Death; Death; Nursing; Coronavirus Infections; Pandemics; Hospitals

Abstract

Objective:

to analyze nurses’ attitudes toward death in a hospital context after the critical period of the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal.

Method:

this quantitative, descriptive, exploratory study was conducted in a university hospital and addressed 995 nurses. Revised Death Attitude Profile (DAP-R) was used to collect data, which were analyzed using analytical and inferential statistics.

Results:

the nurses most frequently agreed with the statements concerning the Neutral/Neutrality Acceptance and Fear. Age, marital status, profession, and unit of work influenced the nurses’ attitudes toward death. During the critical pandemic period, the nurses providing care to patients with COVID-19 presented the following means: Fear (28.89/±8.521) and Avoidance Acceptance (18.35/±7.116), which were higher than the mean obtained in the Escape Acceptance dimension, with significant differences (p=0.004).

Conclusion:

the nurses held Fear and Avoidance attitudes, revealing the need to qualify and support Nursing workers to cope with the death of those they provide care and manage pandemics and catastrophes.

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Published

2021-07-19

Issue

Vol. 29 (2021)

Section

Original Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2021 RLAE RLAE’s authorship concept is based on the substantial contribution by each of the individuals listed as authors, mainly in terms of conceiving and planning the research project, collecting or analyzing and interpreting data, writing and critical review. Indication of authors’ names under the article title is limited to six. If more, authors are listed on the online submission form under Acknowledgements. The possibility of including more than six authors will only be examined on multicenter studies, considering the explanations presented by the authors.
Including names of authors whose contribution does not fit into the above criteria cannot be justified. Those names can be included in the Acknowledgements section.
 Authors are fully responsible for the concepts disseminated in their manuscripts, which do not necessarily reflect the editors’ and editorial board’s opinion.

 

How to Cite

The COVID-19 pandemic and nurses’ attitudes toward death. (2021). Revista Latino-Americana De Enfermagem, 29, e3448. https://doi.org/10.1590/1518.8345.4769.3448