Material
Frequency of Troubles with the Condition of Deceased Persons’ Bodies, and the Morticians’ Request for Nurses: A Questionnaire on Postmortem Care
2023 Volume 43 Pages 126-132
Details
2023 Volume 43 Pages 126-132
Objectives: To reveal the frequency of troubles with the condition of bodies of deceased people after postmortem care by nurses and the requests of morticians concerning postmortem care.
Methods: A self-administered questionnaire survey on postmortem care by nurses was conducted with 2,538 morticians who had embalmed more than 20 bodies in the last 3 months. We collected 215 respondents, and 110 valid responses were analyzed (response rate: 8.5%, valid responses rate: 4.3%).
Results: The rate of morticians who experienced troubles with the deceased person’s body in the past 3 months was 75.5%. The most commonly reported trouble was related to the face, such as “opened mouth (29.4%)” and “the hair style not suiting the deceased person (23.6%).” Morticians expressed various requests for nurses’ postmortem care.
Conclusion: This study suggests that nurses’ postmortem care has many issues. To protect the dignity of deceased people and provide grief care for the bereaved family, nurses should improve postmortem care skills.
