Death Acceptance from a Thai Buddhist Perspective: A Qualitative Study

PURPOSE:To have more in-depth understanding of death acceptance among patients with terminal cancer in Thailand.METHODS:A qualitative descriptive research approach was used to capture the perspectives of patients with terminal cancer about death acceptance. Purposive sampling was used to recruit the participants. A semi-structured interview guide was used during data collection to obtain in-depth interviews with 12 patients diagnosed with terminal cancer. An interpretive descriptive method was used for analyzing data. Analysis of the data for this study was conducted by the analytic team beginning at initial data collection.RESULTS:The findings of this study revealed six major themes relating to death acceptance: 1) perceiving death as a natural part of life; 2) perceiving that death cannot be controlled; 3) thinking that death can come at any time; 4) letting everything go before dying: finding a calmness; 5) additional Buddhist practices: clean living and making merit; and 6) additional means for attaining a peaceful death and peaceful life before death.CONCLUSION:Understanding death acceptance is important for nurses providing care for patients with terminal cancer in order to find strategies and support for patients to accept death and live peacefully with their family in the time they have left.