Death anxiety and death literacy among Turkish adults with chronic illness: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background This study investigated the levels of death anxiety and death literacy among Turkish adults with chronic illness and the factors affecting death anxiety. Methods Study was conducted cross-sectional. A sample of 225 Turkish patients with a chronic illness completed the Turkish Death Anxiety Scale (TDAS) and the Death Literacy Index (DLI). Descriptive statistics, pearson correlation, independent samples t test, One-Way ANOVA and multiple linear regression analysis were used to dissect the data. Results Death anxiety and death literacy levels were close to the average and significantly negatively correlated. The death literacy level and gender of the patients were the factors that most significantly affected death anxiety, and these factors explained 12.8% of the total variance in patients. Conclusions These results suggest that death literacy level and gender were found to be factors affecting death anxiety of patients. it is thought that the results of the study will guide health professionals who care for patients with chronic diseases for evaluation death anxiety and literacy levels of patients.