Quality of dying in the medical intensive care unit: Comparison between thai buddhists and thai muslims

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Religious belief is an important aspect that influences the life of a patient, especially in Asia. We aim to compare the quality of death in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) between Buddhists and Muslims from the perspectives of the relatives of the patients and the nurses and physicians. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This was a cohort study of critically ill patients who died after admission to a medical ICU in Songklanagarind Hospital in Thailand between 2015 and 2016. We interviewed by telephone the relatives of patients. The nurses and physicians who cared for the patients responded to a self-questionnaire. CONCLUSION: There was no difference in the quality of dying and death between Thai Buddhists and Muslims. However, some elements of palliative care were not similar.