A Study of the Cancer Patient’s Death Anxiety Level and the Associated Factors

• Main Authors: Pei-ling Tang, 唐佩玲
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2007
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/86826281536162361977

碩士 === 輔英科技大學 === 護理系碩士班 === 95 === The objectives of this study are to understand the symptom distress, purpose in life, multidimensional health locus of control, and the level of death anxiety in the cancer patients, and to investigate the association between personal characteristics, symptom distress, purpose in life, multidimensional health locus of control and the level of death anxiety. Two hundred and nineteen cancer patients are purposively sampled from three medical centers in southern Taiwan. Subjects are interviewed with a structured questionnaire, which includes personal characteristics, symptom distress scale, purpose in life test, multidimensional health locus of control, and death anxiety inventory. The experimental results are listed as the followings: (1) The average death anxiety score is 49.65, which is ranked as moderately severe. The average symptom distress is 15.65, a mild level. Only 33.8% of the cancer patients have definite purpose of life and confirm the meaning of life. In other words, it is implied that the aim of life is uncertain for cancer patients. One hundred thirty-seven patients (62.6%) who are characterized as health-internal could aggressively seek for medical care by themselves. (2) Severity of disease and fear for disease recurrence are both significantly associated with death anxiety. Personal characteristics, disease status, management methods, and subjective health status are not significantly associated with death anxiety. (3) Symptom distress and opportunistic health locus of control are positively associated with death anxiety, while the score of purpose of life is negatively associated with the level of death anxiety. (4) Purpose of life and fear for disease recurrence are significant predictors for death anxiety among cancer patients, explaining 42% of the total variance. This investigation provides the information about the death anxiety among cancer patients. Health care providers are encouraged to relieve patients’ death anxiety so that they can face the death with dignity and live their lives with positive attitude. Future studies and training programs can focus on promoting the purpose of life among cancer patients. Health care providers can bring positive attitude to cancer patients and guide them to re-discover the meaning of life and pass beyond the confusion of death.