The Examination of the Relationship Between Death Anxiety, Psychological Resilience and Religious Attitude Levels of Cardiology Patients with and without Myocardial Infarction in Turkey

The study was conducted to investigate death anxiety, psychological resilience, religious attitude levels, and related factors in cardiology patients with and without myocardial infarction (MI). This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted with 500 cardiology patients (250 with and 250 without MI) in Turkey. The Personal Information Form, Turkish Death Anxiety Scale, Resilience Scale for Adults, and Ok-Religious Attitude Scale were used in the collection of the data. No statistically significant differences were detected between death anxiety, psychological resilience, and religious attitude levels in the two patient groups. According to the regression analysis results, retired people showed significantly higher levels of psychological resilience compared to other occupational groups, regular users of medication compared to non-users and sometimes regular users, and those who did not do regular physical activity compared to those who did not do any physical activity (p < 0.05). Psychological resilience decreased as the duration of illness increased (B = - 0.360; p = 0.001). Death anxiety and religious attitude had no significant effect on psychological resilience (B = - 0.070; p = 0.132; B = - 0.240; p = 0.192, respectively). Programs must be developed to reduce death anxiety and increase the psychological resilience of all cardiology patients, and religious coping methods must be included in these programs.