ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Despite being an essential part of medical care, professionals do not receive adequate preparation during their training to best face all the feelings resulting from the loss of a patient, generating negative impacts on the well being of these professionals, and justifying the need to reflect on the approach to this theme.
Objective:
The present study analyzed the attitudes of medical students regarding the process of death and spirituality before and after the completion of the module “Health of the Elderly, Aging, and Terminality of Life”, for medical students of the 8th period at the Faculdade Pernambucana de Saúde, in 2021.
Method:
This is a clinical educational trial, of the analytical before-and-after type, focused on the approach to death and the dying process through the mentioned module. The participants answered a questionnaire containing the variables of interest and validated instruments (Death Attitude Profile Revised and Spirituality Self Rating Scale). For statistical analysis the chi-square test was used, considering a value of p<0.05.
Result:
There was no significant change in attitude towards death before and after the module (p=0.236), with a predominance of negative attitudes (p=0.775), especially avoidance of death, in both moments of the study. Among students with high spirituality, negative attitudes were also more prevalent, with no significant difference between the two moments of the survey.
Conclusion:
The lack of changes in attitude corroborates the hypothesis that the current approach to this topic is not sufficient for students to develop the adaptive attitudes necessary to deal with death in the professional environment.
Keywords:
Death; Palliative Care; Medical Education; Spirituality