Nursing students' attitudes toward caring for dying patients: a quantitative study.

backgroundEnd-of-life care is a fundamental component of nursing practice; however, many nursing students report insufficient preparation, emotional discomfort, and a lack of confidence when caring for dying patients. Cultural and religious factors may further influence students' attitudes toward death and dying, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Understanding these attitudes and their associated factors is essential to improving nursing education and preparing students for compassionate end-of-life care. This study examined attitudes toward caring for dying patients among final-year nursing students at King Saud University and explored the influence of gender, previous death-related experiences, and religious commitment on these attitudes, including religiosity's potential moderating role.

methodsThis study used a quantitative cross-sectional design. A convenience sample of 318 final-year "Level 8" nursing students completed a self-administered questionnaire, including demographic variables, death-related experiences, a single-item scale measuring religiosity (religious commitment), and the Frommelt Attitudes Toward Care of the Dying Scale (FATCOD-B). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, Pearson's correlation, and hierarchical multiple regression.

resultsThe students demonstrated neutral to moderately negative attitudes toward caring for dying patients (M = 25.45, SD = 5.95). Male students reported significantly more positive attitudes than female students (p < 0.001); gender accounted for 3.4% of the variance in attitudes (R² = 0.034). No significant associations were found between these attitudes and previous death-related experiences or palliative care education. Religious commitment was not a significant predictor of attitudes when added to the model (ΔR² = 0.003, p = 0.312), and its moderating effect on the relationship between gender and attitudes was not statistically significant (ΔR² = 0.011, p = 0.055); the full model explained 4.8% of the variance (R² = 0.048). However, the descriptive pattern suggested that gender differences decreased at higher levels of religious commitment.

conclusionsFinal-year nursing students exhibited suboptimal attitudes toward end-of-life care, emphasizing the need for enhanced educational strategies. Nursing curricula should incorporate structured and culturally sensitive approaches to address emotional preparedness, communication skills, and reflective learning. Considering gender differences and the potential influence of religiosity may further support the development of effective interventions to improve students' readiness for end-of-life care.