The correlation between death anxiety, loneliness and hope levels in patients treated in the cardiac intensive care unit

• Published in: Nursing in critical care 2024-05, Vol.29 (3), p.486-492
• Main Authors: Yildirim, Dilek, Akman, Ozlem, Ozturk, Serpil, Yakin, Ozlem
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Anxiety; Anxiety - psychology; Attitude to Death; Cardiology; Coronary Care Units; death anxiety; Female; Hope; Humans; Intensive care; Intensive Care Units; Loneliness; Loneliness - psychology; Male; Middle Aged; Nursing care; Prospective Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Turkey
• ISSN: 1362-1017; 1478-5153
• DOI: 10.1111/nicc.13007

Background A sense of hope plays an important role in relieving stress and psychological distress of cardiology patients, as well as improving their physical well‐being. Aim The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between death anxiety, loneliness and hope levels in patients receiving treatment in a cardiac intensive care unit (ICU). Design This is a prospective, descriptive and correlational study. Methods The study was completed with 150 cardiac ICU patients in Istanbul, Turkey. The data were collected using a Patient Information Form, the Templer Death Anxiety Scale (TDAS), the Herth Hope Index (HHI) and the UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA‐LS). Results The patients had a mean age of 63.56 ± 12.74 years. Most of the patients (82%) were treated in the ICU for heart failure. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between total scores of TDAS and UCLA‐LS (r = .337; p