Impact on nursing home staff of training about death and dying
M. W. Linn, B. S. Linn and S. Stein
The aim of the study was to test an educational program for nursing home
personnel concerning working with dying patients. Ten community nursing
homes were randomly assigned to experimental (training) or control (no
training) conditions. Staff members in all homes were pretested on their
anxieties about death, attitudes, knowledge, and skill in working with the
dying. After training, experimental staff members (N = 296) had more fear
of their own deaths and less fear of the dying of others than control
subjects (N = 290). Also, trained staff had better attitudes toward caring
for the dying patient and dealing with the family, as well as improved
knowledge and skill. Data support the value of training, even though
sessions may temporarily increase anxiety of staff members about their own
deaths.
