Attitudes Held by Chilean Nursing Professionals on Care of the Dying. A Multivariate Analysis

Abstract

Objective: Evaluate attitudes towards end-of-life care among nurses from the Bío Bío region of Chile and determine the variables that exert the most influence in that respect. Materials and methods: This is a descriptive-correlational and predictive study of 308 nurses who work in palliative care at public health centers. The Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying Scale was used, as were scales on emotional intelligence, attitudes toward death, emotional work and bio-demographic variables of experience and professional training. Results: The trend in attitude toward end-of-life care was shown to be favorable, and a direct and statistically significant association was found with age, work experience, more attachment over time, the number of terminal patients served, and with understanding and emotional regulation. The attitude was more prevalent among the females in the study and was influenced favorably by the preference for working in palliative care and by being a trainer in the area. On the contrary, it was negatively influenced by fear of death and feigned emotional work. Conclusions: There is a need for professional training that contributes to the empirical model, orients education on attitudes toward death, and helps with emotional coping and attitudes toward end-of-life care.