Relationship between physicians ’ death anxiety and medical communication and decision-making: A systematic review

Care for patients at the end of life has been characterized as one of the most difficult parts of medical practice [1,2]. An important reason may be confrontation with the finiteness of life. Mortality cues (i.e. experiences or events that make death salient) may remind physicians of their own mortality and the vulnerability of the human body [3,4]. Examples of such cues include breaking bad news, or taking care of a dying patient [5]; such confrontations could induce a fear of death [6]. Death anxiety encompasses fear for the end of one ’s existence, fear of the dying process, fear of the unknown after death, and/or fear of the death of significant others [7].
Source: Patient Education and Counseling - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Review article Source Type: research