Moderating Effect of Nurse’s Character on the Relationship between Attitudes toward Nursing Care of the Dying and Performance of Terminal Care in South Korea

This study aimed to investigate the moderating effect of nurses’ characteristics on the relationship between attitudes toward nursing care and terminal care performance of hospice nurses. The participants included nurses working in hospice care units in general hospitals in South Korea. Data collected from August 1 to 31, 2020 were analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, Pearson′s correlation coefficients, and hierarchical multiple regression. The performance of terminal care was positively correlated with attitudes toward nursing care of the dying (r = 0.45, p < 0.001) and nurses’ characteristics (r = 0.60, p < 0.001). There was also a positive correlation (r = 0.58, p < 0.001) between attitudes toward nursing care for dying patients and nurses′ characteristics. Nurses’ characteristics had a significant moderating effect on the relationship between attitudes toward nursing care of the dying and performance of terminal care. This means that the nurses’ character had a buffering effect on the relationship between attitudes toward nursing care of the dying and performance of terminal care in hospice care units. These findings suggest that continuous and repetitive educational programs on terminal care need to be enhanced, and strategies to strengthen attitudes toward nursing care of the dying and nurses’ character need to be included in these programs.