Achieving a Healthy Death: The Dying Person’s Attitudinal Contributions

This study addressed the question of whether there are attitudes that may be psychologically beneficial to the dying, their families, and their caregivers by distributing the Omega Attitudes Inventory to systematically selected hospice coordinators nationwide.

Abstract

This study addressed the question of whether there are attitudes that may be psychologically beneficial to the dying, their families, and their caregivers. The Omega Attitudes Inventory was distributed to 467 systematically selected hospice coordinators nationwide. The responses of 327 (70%) indicated high concordance with patient attitudes contributing to a "healthy" death. The identified attitudes were qualitatively enhanced through anecdote and the literature. The study concluded with implications for clinical practice and further research.