Hospice volunteer's Attitude Toward Care of the Dying

호스피스 자원 봉사자들의 말기 환자 돌봄에 대한 태도

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to identify attitudes of hospice volunteers toward care of for terminally ill patients. Method : This was a descriptive study with a sample of 84 adults who were registered for a hospice volunteer education program at Severence Hospice Center. The Frommelt (FATCOD) scale on attitudes toward the care of the dying (Cronbach alpha=.778) and an open ended questions on "what if you only have 6 months to live" were used to collect the data. The data was analyzed using SPSS/W and content analysis. Results : 1) The hospice volunteers were mostly female, with an average age of 45 years, half of them were college graduates and their religious preference was Protestant. 2) The participants of this study demonstrated positive attitudes to care for the dying which is in coherence with hospice philosophy and principles. However they indicated difficulties in maintaining close relationships with people who are dying, and in communicating and sharing, and encouraging those who are dying to express their feelings. In the open ended questions, they identified that their most important issues would be guilt feelings toward their children, family concerns, and the burden of unfinished business in their lives. They also identified the fear of pain in the dying process and fear of the afterlife. The care they would like to receive was to have peace of mind, have a good listener, spiritual counselling, and pain relief and to be respected as a human being. The source of strength would be faith in God and they would like to overcome their of dying. The FATCOD scale has limitation in describing and identifying the need and attitude toward the care of the dying revisions were made. Conclusion : We all are the potential clients for the hospice rare. In a hospice volunteer education program, communication and interpersonal skill are essential. The fear of dying, afterlife, concerns about family with children, and human dignity are major concerns in hospice and palliative care.

본 연구는 2000년 상반기 한 대학 병원의 호스피스 자원봉사자 교육에 참여한 84명의 설문 응답자를 대상으로 하여 호스피스 자원봉사자의 죽음에 대한 태도와 말기 환자 돌봄에 대한 요구, 말기환자와 가족 돌봄에 대한 태도를 알아보기 위한 서술적 연구이다. 개방형 질문을 이용한 자료에서 응답자의 대부분이 죽음에 임박한다면 가족에 대한 염려와 걱정, 죽음의 고통, 내세의 두려움이 가장 큰 불편함이 될 것이라고 답했고, 사랑과 관심 있는 임종 간호에 대한 요구를 보였으며, 죽음이라는 위기 상황을 극복할 수 있는 가장 큰 자신의 자원을 신앙심으로 인식하고 있다. FATCOD 도구에서(Cronbach ${\alpha}$는 0.778 이었으며) 말기환자와 가족 돌봄이 가치 있는 일이라고 여김에도 불구하고 죽음에 대해 이야기하는 것과 말기환자와 감정을 나누는 것은 여전히 어렵고 불편한 것임을 나타냈다. 또한, 말기환자 돌봄에서 가족 참여는 필수적인 것이고, 말기환자가 남은 여생을 가장 잘 살아갈 수 있도록 정상적인 환경을 유지해야 하며, 죽음이란 모든 인간이 자연스럽게 받아들여야 하는 삶의 한 과정임을 인식하고 있다.