Student attitudes toward death across cultures and religions: A single-group pretest–post-test study

Background

There is limited evidence on the attitudes of nursing students before and after receiving palliative care educational materials.

Aim

To analyze the attitudes of students before and after being taught palliative nursing as a course subject.

Methods

A single-group pretest-posttest design was used by combining data collected through questionnaires involving 94 second-year students from various ethnic and religious groups. The Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying scale (FATCOD) version B was distributed to participants. A paired t-test was employed to analyze the differences in the course's scores before and after its delivery.

Results

A statistically significant difference was observed in the mean FATCOD score before and after the subject course. A greater number of students exhibited a negative attitude in both periods.

Conclusions

As the students had no experience of clinical placement, their attitude toward dying patients may improve when they gain direct experience of taking care of dying patients at healthcare facilities. To ensure a comprehensive and inclusive future study, incorporating nursing students from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds is imperative.