2016 Volume 19 Issue 2 Pages 34-41
Objectives: This study sought to determine whether the backgrounds of care workers at special nursing homes for the elderly are factors influencing their views, anxieties, and attitudes toward end-of-life care at nursing homes.
Method: An original, self-administered, anonymous survey was mailed to 320 care workers at special nursing homes for the elderly in Ishikawa Prefecture. The reported views and anxieties toward end-of-life care were analyzed, and the corresponding attitudes were measured using the Japanese version of the Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying Scale.
Results: From the total 226 questionnaires returned (response rate, 70.6%), 74.8% of the care workers reported experiencing end-of-life care at their present nursing home workplace. Care workers who had been involved in end-of-life care for their own relatives family members or for residents at the nursing homes had positive views toward end-of-life care provided at nursing homes (p ＜ .01 and p ＜ .001, respectively) and also had a proactive attitude toward end-of-life care (p ＜ .05 and p ＜ . 001, respectively). The factor causing anxiety about end-of-life care among senior care workers was the absence of physicians at night (p ＜ .05), while the factor influencing whether care workers worked long term at the nursing homes was an insufficient number of private rooms (p ＜ .001).
Conclusion: To improve the quality of end-of-life care at nursing homes, it is necessary to address factors affecting individual care workers to reduce their anxieties about end-of-life care.
