The Effects of Nursing Students' Previous Death Experiences on Their Death Perceptions and Anxiety When Faced with The Death of Their Patients

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the relationship between nursing students' death experiences, perceptions of death, and death anxiety. Methods: The study was conducted in the nursing department of the university located in Türkiye. The study was completed with 672 in the population. Student descriptive information form and Death Anxiety Scale were used for the data. Before starting the research, Academic board permission, institutional permission from the study's institution, and Ethics Committee approval were obtained. Results: In the study, the mean score on the death anxiety scale was 64.02±15.01. It was determined that most students (61.6%) had experienced the death process before, as the loss of a close relative (70.5%), and felt the most sadness in this experience. It was determined that the difference between students' perceptions of death and death anxiety total scores was not significant. When the results are considered, it is seen that the independent variables explain 12% of the total score of the Death Anxiety Scale, which is the dependent variable, and is significant. Conclusion: Based on these results, it can be suggested that the concept of death, acceptance of death, and appropriate approaches to possible reactions to death should be added to the nursing curriculum from the first year, and the content of the courses about patient care and the process should be enriched gradually as the year level increases.