Nurses' death anxiety, comfort level during communication with patients and families regarding death, and exposure to communication education: a quantitative study.

The first purpose of this study was to determine if a nurse's death anxiety is related to the comfort level of the nurse during communication with patients and families regarding death. The second purpose was to explore whether nurses reported having been exposed to communication education regarding dealing with difficult subjects such as death and whether this exposure was related to comfort level of the nurse during communication with patients and families regarding death. Findings of this study benefit nurse educators and nurses involved in staff development because the results indicate that comfort level of the nurse during communication with patients and families is adversely affected by an increase in the nurse's own death anxiety, and positively affected by exposure to communication education. Thus, these results indicate a need for education in this area. The next step is to identify the most effective type, objectives, and content of this type of education.