The relationship between nursing students' attitudes towards death and the care of the decedent and their spiritual orientation

Purpose: This study was conducted to determine the relationship between nursing students' attitudes towards death and care of individuals approaching death and their spiritual orientations. Materials and Methods: The descriptive correlational study was conducted with the participation of students receiving education at Ondokuz Mayıs University Faculty of Health Sciences Department of Nursing between 01/04/2023 and 10/05/2024. The sample of the study comprised 395 nursing students. The data were collected using The Nursing Students Introductory Information Form, The Frommelt Attitudes toward Care of the Dying Scale (FATCOD), The Death Attitude ProfileRevised (DAP-R) and The Spiritual Tendency Scale (STS). The data were analyzed using the IBM SPSS 25 program. Findings: It was determined that the mean total FATCOD score was 104.58±8.87, the mean total STS score was 91.89±19.11, the mean total DAP-R Fear of Death subscale score was 28.62±8.57, the mean total Avoiding Death subscale score was 19.54±5.68, the mean total Neutral Acceptance subscale score was 28.59±3.47, the mean total Accepting Approach subscale score was 50.76±8.66 and the mean total Denial of Death subscale score was 20.88±7.07. A statistically significant correlation was found between the mean total STS score and the mean total FATCOD score and between the mean DAP-R Fear of Death subscale score and the mean total FATCOD score in a positive direction (p<0.05). A statistically significant correlation was found between the mean DAP-R Neutral Acceptance subscale score and the mean total FATCOD score in a positive direction (p<0.05). A moderate correlation was found between the DAP-R Avoiding Death subscale score and the Fear of Death subscale score (r: 0.557). Conclusion: It is possible to state that spiritual tendencies of the nursing students in the present study was a significant predictor of their attitudes toward death and care the dying. Keywords: Care, Nursing, Nursing students, Spirituality, Death