Caring for Terminally ILL Persons
Comparative Analysis of Attitudes (Thanatophobia) of Practicing Physicians, Student Nurses, and Medical Students
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13654763 |
|---|---|
| Authors | J M Merrill (Baylor College of Medicine, corresponding author), J Merrill (Baylor College of Medicine), Ronald J Lorimor (Baylor College of Medicine), R Lorimor (Baylor College of Medicine), John Thornby (0000-0003-1326-0947, Baylor College of Medicine), A Woods (Baylor College of Medicine), Anne B Woods (0000-0003-2241-686X, Baylor College of Medicine) |
| Year | 1998 |
| Volume | 83 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 123-128 |
| Publication date | 1998-08-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Psychological Reports (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0033-2941 • E-ISSN: 1558-691X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.2466/pr0.1998.83.1.123 |
| PMID | 9775670 |
| OpenAlex | W2119559014 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 8 |
To investigate why some caregivers desire to avoid patients with terminal illnesses, a thanatophobia scale assessing caregivers' uncomfortable feelings and sense of helplessness was developed and evaluated among practicing physicians and student nurses and medical students. As a group, student nurses scored lower on the thanatophobia scale than practicing physicians and medical students. Higher scores on intolerance to clinical uncertainty were associated with higher thanatophobia scores in all groups. Scores for depressed mood, decreased sensitivity, and Machiavellianism were statistically significant predictors in some groups. Higher thanatophobia scores also predicted lower scores for ratings of self-esteem in caring for elderly patients. Among senior medical students, those with lower thanatophobia scores tended to enter primary care residencies. Health professional educators may find this scale helpful both in pinpointing sources of caregivers' angst and useful in counseling students in management of terminally ill persons
Feeling · Learned helplessness · Mood · Scale (ratio · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Clinical Psychology · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Psychology · Social Psychology
Medical Student Distress
The Validity and Reliability of the Thanatophobia Scale-Turkish Form
The Effect of Emergency Nurses’ Psychological Resilience on Their Thanatophobic Behaviors
The Relationship Between the Levels of Thanatophobia and the Attitudes Towards the Care of Dying Patients Among Student Nurses
The Relationship Between Thanatophobia Levels and Attitudes Towards Caregiver Roles Among Nurses in the Covid-19 Period
Confirming and notifying death
An Overview of Physician Attitudes toward Death and Dying
| Citations per year | 0.27 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2000 - 2026 (27) |
| Highly cited | No |