Factors influencing Jordanian nursing students’ attitudes toward caring for terminally ill patients

Background: Providing care for terminally ill patients is demanding and many nursing students are insufficiently prepared to care for terminally ill patients. Objectives: This study aimed to explore nursing students’ attitudes toward caring for terminally ill patients at universities in Jordan and identify the factors influencing these attitudes. Methods: A quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional design was used. A multistage random sampling method was employed to recruit 500 nursing students from five governmental universities in Jordan. A structured questionnaire consisting of two parts, including a demographic information sheet and the Frommelt Attitude Toward Care of the Dying Scale Form B (FATCOD-B), was used to collect the data. Results: The majority of nursing students expressed unfavourable opinions about end-of-life care. No significant relationships were found between students’ sociodemographic variables and attitudes toward end-of-life care, except for age and academic year (F=2.5, P =0.006). Conclusion: Nursing students observe adverse perceptions regarding the care of terminally ill patients. Nurse educators need to make extensive efforts to understand students’ perspectives on this topic. Integrating palliative educational courses into the nursing curriculum should improve students’ attitudes toward end-of-life care.