An Investigation of the Relationship Between Attitudes Towards Caring for Dying Patients and Compassion

The impact of a student death doula service-learning experience in palliative care settings on nursing students: A pilot mixed-methods study

Through a mixed-methods approach (randomized controlled trial and thematic analysis of pre and post-service-learning reflections), this study evaluated the impact of a student death doula service-learning experience on nursing students' palliative competencies and learning experiences. The intervention group underwent a 2-day student death doula training workshop followed by a 6-month service-learning experience, while the control group received standard palliative care education. Attitudes toward the care of the dying significantly improved for the intervention group but not for compassion competence and palliative care knowledge. Six themes were developed: (1) Motivations for being a student death doula, (2) Improved perceptions of palliative care patients, (3) Perceptions of a good death, (4) Confidence in caring for palliative care patients, (5) Understanding the multifaceted nature of palliative care, and (6) Joys and challenges during service-learning. Service-learning helped students to understand palliative care patients and acquire confidence in engaging with them.

Promoting person-centred care at the end of life

Providing person-centred care that takes into account each patient's individual needs and priorities is crucial at the end of life. Nurses need to be aware of the main aspects of person-centred care, such as supporting shared decision-making, developing therapeutic nurse-patient relationships, and considering the patient's physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs. This article discusses the concept of person-centred care in the context of providing end of life care to patients and their families. It explains the benefits and barriers to providing person-centred end of life care, and outlines some of the areas that nurses and other healthcare professionals need to consider to promote effective care.

The Relationship Between Attitudes Towards Caring for Dying Patients and Self Compassion in ICU Nurses

The study aims to investigate the relationship between ICU nurses' attitudes towards caring for dying patients and self compassion.This cross-sectional study (Aug-Oct 2022) was conducted with the volunteer participation of 219 ICU nurses in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Data were collected through the Socio-demographic Form, the Frommelt Attitude toward Care of Dying Scale (FATCOD), and the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS).The mean score of attitude of end-of-life care and self-compassion were 92.77 ± 21.5 and 47.83 ± 7.69 respectively. A statistically significant difference was found between nurses' education level and attitudes of end-of-life care (p < 0.001) and self-compassion. (p < 0.04) A significant difference was found between end of life care training experience and self-compassion (p < 0.03). A positive, statistically significant relationship was found between the attitudes of end-of-life care total score and self-compassion total score (p < 0.001). A significant relationship between the self-compassion and attitude toward caring for dying patients is an important finding for quality of care in ICU nurses.