Biography
Biography: Asunción Ãlvarez-del-RÃo
Abstract
Views regarding death vary within the healthcare profession. We present the results of a study which explores the views of Mexican nurses about death in their clinical practices using the Nurses’ Views about Death Questionnaire, which was developed for this study. Two hundred and eighth nine nurses were surveyed, all of which had experience treating terminally ill patients. The questionnaire was applied in a voluntary fashion to nursing personnel of two different hospitals in Mexico City. The study brought objective information on a situation that has been mainly viewed through anecdotic information. Results show that most nurses claim that patients should be informed when she/he is in a near death situation. However, only about half of them feel comfortable dealing with terminally patients. Additionally, the study explored nurses views about physicians’ attitudes towards patients who inevitably will die thus enhancing our comprehension on this topic which was first addressed through a study conducted with Mexican physicians. In the current study, nurses consider that physicians do not have as much conversations regarding death with their patients as what physicians claim (when compared with results from a previous study). Nurses in the study agreed with the need of establishing special places and opportunities to discuss and reflect about issues related to death. Understanding how health care teams face patients’ death in Mexico will have a positive impact on the development of educational activities in order to help them cope with end-of-life situations.