Cent Eur J Nurs Midw 2026, 17(2):2446-2455 | DOI: 10.15452/cejnm.2026.17.0013

Cross-sectional study of attitudes toward death among Hungarian nurses

Norbert Domonkos1,2, István Vingender1,3
1 Health Sciences Division, Doctoral College, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
2 Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences and Social Studies, University of Szeged, Hungary
3 Department of Social Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary

Aim: The study aimed to examine how socio-demographic factors, age, nursing specialty, and the frequency of end-of-life care provision influence nurses’ attitudes toward death and fear of death.

Design: A cross-sectional quantitative study.

Methods: Data analysis was conducted on a sample of 250 nurses. Attitudes toward death were measured with the Death Attitude Profile-Revised (DAP-R) and the Multidimensional Fear of Death Scale (MFODS). Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 23.0, applying descriptive statistics, the Shapiro-Wilk test, the Mann-Whitney U test, the Kruskal-Wallis test, Spearman’s rank correlation, and linear regression analysis.

Results: No significant differences in fear of death were found between young (18–40 years) and middle-aged (41–65 years) nurses (DAP-R: p = 0.89; MFODS: p = 0.18). No significant correlations with age were observed (DAP-R: ρ = -0.004; p = 0.95; MFODS: ρ = 0.11; p = 0.09). The frequency of end-of-life care provision correlated significantly with fear of death on the DAP-R (ρ = 0.19; p = 0.003) and was negatively correlated with the MFODS (ρ = -0.15; p = 0.02).

Conclusion: Fear of death showed no significant differences across age groups or clinical settings, except in relation to the frequency of exposure to dying patients.

Keywords: DAP-R, death attitude, fear of death, MFODS, nurses

Received: June 11, 2025; Revised: March 18, 2026; Accepted: May 25, 2026; Published: June 5, 2026  Show citation

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Domonkos N, Vingender I. Cross-sectional study of attitudes toward death among Hungarian nurses. Central European Journal of Nursing and Midwifery. 2026;17(2):2446-2455. doi: 10.15452/cejnm.2026.17.0013.
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