Effect of program based on the drawing-method about attitude toward death for response to "Tashi-society" -Using data of Japanese nursing students

【Purpose】 Japan will experience the Tashi-society soon under rapidly aging society. (Tashi-society means the society in which many people die.) Responding to Tashi-society is a public health challenge that should be addressed in the community. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the suitable educational program for modern citizens about attitude toward death in Japanese cultural back ground. In this presentation, we show the effect of an educational program based on the drawing-method about attitude toward death in nursing college students.

【Methods】 Self-reported questionnaire was conducted among nursing students who enrolled in a class of “nursing for end of life”. Students were randomly divided into two groups. The program of intervention group (n=92) consisted of “drawing about image of death” and “small-group discussion”. The program of conventional group (n=84) consisted of “simple reading literature about care for end of life” and “small-group discussion”. Attitude toward death of 176 students was assessed by the Death Attitude Inventory (DAI) which consisted of seven factors with 27 items before and after each session.

【Results】 In intervention group, the scores of “Afterlife belief”, “Death relief”, “Life purpose” and “Death concern” were significantly increased, and the scores of “Death anxiety” and “Death avoidance” were significantly decreased (p<0.05).

【Conclusion】 The program we developed was a noteworthy and effective method for education about attitude toward death in nursing students. With Japanese cultural background, this program has the potential to be applied to the education for all people who engage in end of life care.