Scholarly record

SPIRITUALITY AND ATTITUDES TO DEATH IN SELECTED MINORITIES IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

J. Manhalova, V. Tothova, T. Dusickova, V. Olisarova, K. Toumova

Abstract

Background: There are not many phenomena in life that are common to all people. One of such phenomena is death, but people’s perception of death differs, even though everybody is aware of their own mortality. In the formation of attitudes to death, which can be positive, negative and neutral, the spirituality of the individual is crucial, which means the life experience, the way of perception and personal assessment of what goes above and beyond us. The aim of this article is to present partial results of the research investigating the use of conceptual models in clinical and community practice, and to create an insight into the issues of spirituality and attitudes towards death in selected minorities in the Czech Republic. Methods: The research was made possible through the financial support of the Grant Agency of the University of South Bohemia in ?eské Bud?jovice as part of the team grant project called "Use of Conceptual Models in Clinical and Community Practice", No. 048/2015 / S. The research study was conducted by a quantitative method with the use of the DAP-R questionnaire. The research group was made up of members of selected religious minorities, namely 200 Jews, 500 Christians, 200 Buddhists, 200 Muslims and 600 atheists. Data collection was made from October 2016 to April 2017. Results: There is a statistically significant relationship between spirituality and the fear of death, the evasive attitude to death, the neutral acceptance of death, the welcome acceptance of death, and the escape acceptance of death. While the respondents who do not belong to any church or religion score higher on the scale of the escape attitude to death and the neutral attitude to death,, the respondents claiming to be religious score higher on the scale of the welcome acceptance of death. Conclusion: The analysis of spirituality and attitudes towards death in selected minorities in the territory of the Czech Republic has revealed both homogeneous features and specifics of selected minority groups, which contribute significantly to attitudes related to the issues of the last things in human life. The results have also revealed the importance of spirituality and attitudes to death, whose understanding helps provide comprehensive care for the dying based on the holistic theory, and thus enables nurses to improve the quality of life of the patients in their difficult time.

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