Korean Medical Education Review (의학교육논단)

Yonsei university college of medicine (연세대학교 의과대학)
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The Influence of Death Education on Medical Students' Attitudes towards End-of-Life Care: A Preliminary Study

의과대학생을 위한 죽음교육이 말기환자 돌봄 태도에 미치는 영향에 대한 예비연구

  • Kim, Hae Won (Department of Medical Education, Yonsei University College of Medicine) ;
  • Park, Joong Chul (Department of Family Medicine, Green Hospital)
  • 김혜원 (연세대학교 의과대학 의학교육학교실) ;
  • 박중철 (녹색병원 가정의학과)
  • Received : 2018.07.23
  • Accepted : 2018.09.20
  • Published : 2018.10.31
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Abstract

End-of-life care competencies have been perceived as important and essential, so it has been suggested that end-of-life care be studied in undergraduate medical education. However, end-of-life care curriculum has mostly focused on acquisition of knowledge and skills rather than attitudes. Therefore, we aimed to explore whether education about death affects medical students' attitudes towards care for dying patients and perception of death anxiety, meaning in life, and self-esteem. A total of 15 first- or second-year medical students were surveyed with questionnaires before and after completing a 6-week death education course. Paired data analysis showed that participants' attitudes towards caring for terminally ill patients and their caregivers improved significantly (t=-2.84, p=0.013) with an effect size of 0.73. In contrast, no significant changes were found in death anxiety, meaning in life, or self-esteem. All participants agreed that formal teaching about death and dying must be encouraged in medical schools. Our results suggest that death education may positively influence attitudes towards end-of-life care. Although replication with larger samples is necessary, this preliminary finding may support the importance of developmentally appropriate end-of-life care education in medical schools.

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