Study of Death Attitudes by General Characteristics and Death Perceptions of the Severely Diseased Persons in Hospice Facilities

Abstract This study examined the relationship between the death perceptions and attitudes of the severely diseased persons in hospice facilities based on their general characteristics. The surveys were conducted from March 10 to July 31, 2013 on 149 patients at hospice facilities in O city, Gyeonggi-do. The data was analyzed by the SPSS WIN 18.0. First, positive death attitudes showed significant differences according to the patients ’ general characteristics (F=6.218, p<.001). Second, the patients ' death attitudes by their death perceptions showed meaningful results (F=6.634, p<.001). Third, the death attitudes revealed a positive relation with hospice use (r=.496, p<.001). Overall, patients, who have positive death perceptions and attitudes, have high expectations for hospice use and these results support for welfar