Abstract
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a death education program on attitude to death and meaning in life for university students. Methods: The design of this study was quasi-experimental and non-synchronized with a non-equivalent control group. The study subjects were 28 students at a college in Busan. The experimental group (n=14) participated in a death education program. While the control group (n=14) didn't. The program consisted of lectures and discussions for 6 hours a day over 5 days. The 30-hr course examined the meaning of death, modern society and death, hospice movements and desirable life and death. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire consisting of general characteristics, attitude to death and meaning in life. Collected data were analyzed as frequency, percentage, $x^2$-test, t-test using SPSS 11.0 WIN Program. Results: The attitude to death scores in the experimental group were significantly lower than in the control group (p=.000). The meaning in life scores in the experimental group were significantly higher than in the control group (p=.039). Conclusions: These findings showed that the death education program was effective to enhance the attitude to death and meaning in life among in college students. Therefore, a continuing death education program can be applied as an effective nursing intervention for other subjects.