Attitude toward care of the dying and practice of peaceful end-of-life care in community hospitals in China

AimTo evaluate nurses' attitude toward caring for dying patients, their practice of peaceful end-of-life care in community hospitals, and the association between these two variables. BackgroundCommunity hospitals play an important role in the peaceful end-of-life care. For nurses, one of the key points of offering high-level care is to improve attitude. However, there are very few studies exploring how the attitude of nurses toward caring for dying patients relates to the practice of peaceful end-of-life care in community hospitals across China. MethodsA total of 363 questionnaires were included in this study. Simple random sampling was used to recruit participants from six community hospitals in China. A new instrument, Nurses' Practice of Peaceful End-of-Life Care Instrument (NP-PECI), was developed according to the Theory of Peaceful End of Life to assess the practice of nurses. Besides, Frommelt Attitudes toward Care of the Dying (FATCOD) was adopted to assess nurses for their attitude toward caring for dying patients. ResultsThe nurses' attitude toward caring for dying patients showed a significant positive correlation with their practice of peaceful end-of-life care statistically (r = 0.175, p < 0.01). ConclusionFor community nurses, it is necessary to improve the attitude of nurses toward the practice of caring for dying patients, thus enhancing the outcome of peaceful end-of-life care. Implications for nursing practiceThe Theory of Peaceful End of Life provides a theoretical framework and guideline on the practice of clinical nursing for quality control of peaceful end-of-life care, which is significant for improving the palliative care system. In the future, it is worth developing programs based on the Theory of Peaceful End of Life. Implications for nursing policyFor healthcare policy makers, this study can be helpful to refine the existing palliative care support policies and strategies targeted at community hospitals and their nurses.