Attitudes towards death among health care professionals and their perceived well-being at Aga Khan University (AKU)
Introduction Death is a complex construct to understand as it is influenced by the perceptions that HCP may have regarding end of life. Understanding these perceptions helps in addressing death anxiety in HCP which can otherwise negatively influence physician well-being and patient interactions suc...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cambridge University Press
2023-03-01
|
| Series: | European Psychiatry |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933823020333/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797617490829770752 |
|---|---|
| author | N. Khalid A. Chachar S. Siddiqui S. Khan |
| author_facet | N. Khalid A. Chachar S. Siddiqui S. Khan |
| author_sort | N. Khalid |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Introduction
Death is a complex construct to understand as it is influenced by the perceptions that HCP may have regarding end of life. Understanding these perceptions helps in addressing death anxiety in HCP which can otherwise negatively influence physician well-being and patient interactions such as breaking bad news.
Objectives
To identify association between attitudes towards death among HCP and their perceived well-being.
Methods
This is a cross-sectional study on 109 HCP including nurses (n=29), physicians (n=43), resident (n=25) and interns (n=12) across various specialties at AKU. Death anxiety was assessed through the
death attitude profile revised scale and its correlation was seen with the perception of one’s own wellbeing through
Perceived well-being scale. A semi-structured pro-forma was used to collect demographic data.
Results
The results showed that
death anxiety was highest in interns (150.83 ± 17.94) followed by nurses (139 ± 20.67), residents (137.84 ± 15.79) and physicians (137.99 ± 21.59) and
perceived well-being was lowest in interns (71.00 ± 10.10) followed by nurses (72.41 ± 10.43), residents (74.16 ± 12.83) and physicians (75.98 ± 12.19). The results of this study demonstrated a negative correlation between death anxiety and perceived well-being.
Conclusions
The negative correlation between death anxiety and perceived well-being suggest that health care professionals are most vulnerable in the preliminary years of their career. It is therefore recommended that psychology of death and dying is given equal weightage in medical curriculum to enable physicians deal effectively with the trauma of bereavement and loss relating to or patients.
Disclosure of Interest
None Declared |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:56:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-702d23c85d494e2aa5e0d02396a4453a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0924-9338 1778-3585 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T07:56:50Z |
| publishDate | 2023-03-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Psychiatry |
| spelling | doaj.art-702d23c85d494e2aa5e0d02396a4453a2023-11-17T05:05:29ZengCambridge University PressEuropean Psychiatry0924-93381778-35852023-03-0166S958S95810.1192/j.eurpsy.2023.2033Attitudes towards death among health care professionals and their perceived well-being at Aga Khan University (AKU)N. Khalid0A. Chachar1S. Siddiqui2S. Khan3Internal medicine, The Indus health networkPsyciatry, Aga Khan univeristy hospital, Karachi, PakistanPsyciatry, Aga Khan univeristy hospital, Karachi, PakistanPsyciatry, Aga Khan univeristy hospital, Karachi, Pakistan Introduction Death is a complex construct to understand as it is influenced by the perceptions that HCP may have regarding end of life. Understanding these perceptions helps in addressing death anxiety in HCP which can otherwise negatively influence physician well-being and patient interactions such as breaking bad news. Objectives To identify association between attitudes towards death among HCP and their perceived well-being. Methods This is a cross-sectional study on 109 HCP including nurses (n=29), physicians (n=43), resident (n=25) and interns (n=12) across various specialties at AKU. Death anxiety was assessed through the death attitude profile revised scale and its correlation was seen with the perception of one’s own wellbeing through Perceived well-being scale. A semi-structured pro-forma was used to collect demographic data. Results The results showed that death anxiety was highest in interns (150.83 ± 17.94) followed by nurses (139 ± 20.67), residents (137.84 ± 15.79) and physicians (137.99 ± 21.59) and perceived well-being was lowest in interns (71.00 ± 10.10) followed by nurses (72.41 ± 10.43), residents (74.16 ± 12.83) and physicians (75.98 ± 12.19). The results of this study demonstrated a negative correlation between death anxiety and perceived well-being. Conclusions The negative correlation between death anxiety and perceived well-being suggest that health care professionals are most vulnerable in the preliminary years of their career. It is therefore recommended that psychology of death and dying is given equal weightage in medical curriculum to enable physicians deal effectively with the trauma of bereavement and loss relating to or patients. Disclosure of Interest None Declaredhttps://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933823020333/type/journal_article |
| spellingShingle | N. Khalid A. Chachar S. Siddiqui S. Khan Attitudes towards death among health care professionals and their perceived well-being at Aga Khan University (AKU) European Psychiatry |
| title | Attitudes towards death among health care professionals and their perceived well-being at Aga Khan University (AKU) |
| title_full | Attitudes towards death among health care professionals and their perceived well-being at Aga Khan University (AKU) |
| title_fullStr | Attitudes towards death among health care professionals and their perceived well-being at Aga Khan University (AKU) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Attitudes towards death among health care professionals and their perceived well-being at Aga Khan University (AKU) |
| title_short | Attitudes towards death among health care professionals and their perceived well-being at Aga Khan University (AKU) |
| title_sort | attitudes towards death among health care professionals and their perceived well being at aga khan university aku |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0924933823020333/type/journal_article |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nkhalid attitudestowardsdeathamonghealthcareprofessionalsandtheirperceivedwellbeingatagakhanuniversityaku AT achachar attitudestowardsdeathamonghealthcareprofessionalsandtheirperceivedwellbeingatagakhanuniversityaku AT ssiddiqui attitudestowardsdeathamonghealthcareprofessionalsandtheirperceivedwellbeingatagakhanuniversityaku AT skhan attitudestowardsdeathamonghealthcareprofessionalsandtheirperceivedwellbeingatagakhanuniversityaku |