The relationship between the caregiving behaviours of ıntensive care nurses caring for dying patients and their attitudes towards death and euthanasia
AI Summary
Nurses' attitudes to euthanasia are shaped by termination of nursing care interventions, defining euthanasia as a right, and belief in patients' right to choose.
Caregiving behaviours relate to willingness to care for terminal patients, belief euthanasia may apply to terminal cases, questioning patients' reasons, and attitudes towards death.
Nurses should recognise how negative attitudes to death and euthanasia harm terminal care and actively work to improve their caregiving behaviours.
Int J Palliat Nurs. 2026 Jan 2;32(1):19-28. doi: 10.12968/ijpn.2024.0079.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Nurses often intervene to extend patients’ lives. However, sometimes patients may request euthanasia, and this situation can potentially affect their subsequent care.
AIM: To examine the relationship between the caregiving behaviours of nurses caring for dying patients and their attitudes towards death and euthanasia in Türkiye.
METHODS: The study involved 229 intensive care nurses. Data collection was carried out using Attitudes Towards Euthanasia scale, and the caring behaviours assessment tool nursing version-short form.
FINDINGS: The termination of nursing care interventions for patients, defining euthanasia as a right to die and believing that individuals should have the right to euthanasia emerged as factors contributing to nurse’s attitudes towards euthanasia and patients at the end of life. Also, the willingness of nurses to provide care for patients in the terminal stage, their thoughts that euthanasia can be applied to patients in the terminal stage, their questioning the reason for this request if their patients want euthanasia, and their attitudes towards death, emerged as factors contributing to the caring behaviours of nurses.
CONCLUSION: Nurses should be aware of their attitudes towards dying patients and death, and they should be able to identify the effects of negative attitudes on the care they provide to terminally ill patients. They should also work on improving their caregiving behaviours.
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