Work engagement and attitudes toward caring for dying patients and families among home-visiting nurses in Japan

Background: Nurses with higher levels of work engagement tend to be highly efficient in their work and more willing to keep working and to provide patient-centred care. However, whether more engaged nurses provide end-of-life care more proactively has not been examined in the home-care setting. Aim: This study aimed to examine work engagement among home-visiting nurses in Japan and its relationship with their attitudes toward caring for dying patients and their families. Methods: A total of 343 nurses working in 62 agencies across Chiba prefecture, eastern Japan, received an anonymous self-administered questionnaire from July to August 2012. The authors performed multiple regression analysis to explore the relationships between home-visiting nurses" work engagement and attitudes. Results: Data from 184 nurses (53.6%) was analysed. Work engagement was significantly positively related to the nurses" attitudes toward caring for dying patients and their families. Conclusion: As more engaged nurses tend to have more positive attitudes toward caring for dying patients and their families, further research is needed to identify the factors that might help nursing managers to enhance their staffs engagement and perhaps thereby improve their attitudes, with the ultimate aim of achieving better outcomes for patients and families.