Work engagement relates to nurses' attitudes toward caring for dying patients and the families among home visiting nurses

Background and Objective: An inevitable aging population relates to a rapid increase in additional demands for end-of-life care at home. Home visiting nurses (HVNs) are expected to provide high quality end-of-life care at home under the pressure from staff shortages. Nurses' work engagement (WE) has been reported to associate with nurses' health and positive attitude for providing patient-centered care. This study was aimed at testing WE related to nurses' attitudes toward caring for dying patients among HVNs. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 343 HVNs working in 62 agencies across Chiba prefecture, Eastern Japan, were given anonymous self-administered questionnaires. Data were gathered from July to August 2012. WE was measured using Utrecht Work Engagement Scale Japanese version. HVNs' attitudes toward caring for dying patients and the families was measured using the Frommelt Attitude Toward Caring Of the Dying scale Form B Japanese version. Results: A total of 304 (88.6%) questionnaires were returned, and the data of 222 (64.7%) HVNs were analyzed. Multiple regression analysis revealed that WE significantly and positively associated with HVNs' attitudes toward caring for dying patients (â= .242, p= .001). Conclusion: This study firstly identified positive relationship between WE and HVNs' attitudes toward caring for dying patients. Nursing managers could remain in good health of staffs and manage them to carry out end-of-life care effectively by monitoring HVNs' WE.