Evaluation of Nursing Home Care Staff’s Views on Dignified Death: A Qualitative Study


ÇEKİÇ Y., Aydın M., Bulut T. Y.

Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Publication Date: 2026
  • Doi Number: 10.1080/15524256.2026.2633502
  • Journal Name: Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care
  • Journal Indexes: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, Abstracts in Social Gerontology, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Psycinfo
  • Keywords: Dignified death, dying with dignity, end of life, nursing home, qualitative research
  • Ankara University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

This study examined the views of nursing home care staff on dignified death. The study was conducted using an exploratory qualitative research design and included 22 care staff working in a nursing home. The data were collected face-to-face between January and February 2024 through individual. The researchers manually analyzed the data using thematic analysis. Four main themes and ten sub-themes emerged. The themes were requirements (body, comfort, and quality of life), culture (rituals, those left behind, and farewell), environment (space and cemetery of the nameless), and barriers of a dignified death (lack of knowledge and being a burden). Nursing home care staff need information about dignified death. Training care staff about the death process in cooperation with health professionals, including the nurses with whom they work, and raising awareness about dignified death can help individuals whose lives end in nursing homes experience a dignified death.