Abstract

Nurses' experiences with post-mortem care and death were diverse and represented a confluence of factors. Nurses' personalities, religious beliefs, cultural value systems, customs, life experiences, and the unit's orientation all converged and influenced their attitudes toward death. Culture and the unit's orientation exerted the strongest influence on nurses' attitudes. Exposure to dying was the most influential factor in determining attitudes toward death and dying, with palliative care nurses being most comfortable in dealing with death. Cultural differences also emerged, with Canadian and Israeli nurses entertaining divergent attitudes toward death, spirituality and post-mortem care. Death was conceptualised by some nurses as the end of an organism, and by others as the beginning of another form of existence. Post-mortem care was reported as an emotionally demanding task, yet most Canadian nurses considered the experience rewarding. The wrapping of the body in a plastic shroud and the covering of the face was the aspect nurses disliked the most; they felt it was repugnant, dehumanising and disrespectful.