Effects of Death Attitude, Self-esteem, and Perceived Risk of Respiratory Infectious Diseases on Death Anxiety among Nurses in COVID-19 Wards

Purpose: To provide foundational data for developing death anxiety intervention programs for nurses by identifying the factors influencing their death anxiety in COVID-19 wards. Methods: This descriptive survey study involved 123 nurses who had worked for more than six months in the COVID-19 wards of a tertiary hospital in Metropolitan B City. Data were collected using a structured self-report questionnaire from March 22 to April 9, 2022. Results: Death anxiety differed significantly by gender (t=-3.32, <i>p</i>=.001). It showed a significant positive correlation with the perceived risk of respiratory infectious disease (r=.29, <i>p</i>=.001) but significant negative correlations with death attitude (r=-.69, <i>p</i><.001) and self-esteem (r=-.18, <i>p</i>=.049). Factors influencing death anxiety included death attitude (β=-.67, <i>p</i><.001) and gender (β=.23, <i>p</i><.001), accounting for 52.4% of the variance. Conclusion: This study found that death attitude and gender significantly influenced death anxiety among nurses in COVID-19 wards. Therefore, it is neccessary to develop and apply gender-sensitive death anxiety intervention programs that could positively and effectively influence death attitudes to reduce death anxiety of nurses in covid-19 wards.