A Change in Perception of Nursing Students’ Death after Cadaver Dissection

Abstract

This study attempted to provide basic data to inspire correct awareness and understanding of death by grasping the change in perception of death of nursing students before and after cadaver dissection.The subjects of this study were 80 first-year nursing students in Korea, and their perception of death was measured on a 5 Likert scale using a questionnaire consisting of 36 questions. For data analysis, frequency analysis, paired t-test, and one-way ANOVA were performed using SPSS version 25.0.As a result of the study, before dissection, the perception of death was significantly higher according to gender (p=.029). After the cadaver dissection, the perception of death was significantly higher according to the gender (p=.026) and the degree of health status (p=.009). Overall, the perception of death significantly increased after (3.24 points) than before (3.14 points) in dissection (p=.000). In particular, negative perception of death significantly decreased after dissection (p=.003). if an intervention program that can alleviate anxiety about death is accompanied, cadaver dissection will not only help to improve anatomy knowledge, but also contribute to raising the level of awareness of death.