The correlation between death anxiety, loneliness and hope levels in patients treated in the cardiac intensive care unit

Abstract

Background: A sense of hope plays an important role in relieving stress and psychological distress of cardiology patients, as well as improving their physical well-being. Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate the correlation between death anxiety, loneliness and hope levels in patients receiving treatment in a cardiac intensive care unit (ICU). Design: This is a prospective, descriptive and correlational study. Methods: The study was completed with 150 cardiac ICU patients in Istanbul, Turkey. The data were collected using a Patient Information Form, the Templer Death Anxiety Scale (TDAS), the Herth Hope Index (HHI) and the UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA-LS). Results: The patients had a mean age of 63.56 ± 12.74 years. Most of the patients (82%) were treated in the ICU for heart failure. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between total scores of TDAS and UCLA-LS (r =.337; p