Resident physician outlook on death, dying and end-of-life care during the COVID-19 pandemic: effect of religion and burnout

Abstract

ObjectivesReligion and spirituality are important aspects of many physicians and patients’ lives and may impact their views of death and the way they interact with terminally ill patients, specifically comfort discussing end-of-life care and death and dying. This study explores the religious and spiritual beliefs of resident physicians, if they affect interactions with their patients and if burnout impedes this interaction.MethodsA 28-item questionnaire was administered to residents and fellows at an urban academic hospital.Results65 residents and fellows answered the survey. Religiosity but not spirituality correlated with reported comfort interacting with patients dealing with death or dying. Resident specialty, biological sex and spirituality were not associated with comfort and conversations about religion and end-of-life care. The majority (60%) reported that the pandemic has not affected how they speak to their patients about death and dying. Caring for a higher volume of terminally ill patients was not associated with high levels of burnout though 71% reported increased burnout due to COVID-19.ConclusionFurther research can be done to determine whether additional training or resources should be provided to resident physicians to cope with death and dying in the setting of a pandemic.

Description and Analysis of Research on Death and Dying during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Published in Nursing Journals Indexed in SCOPUS

“…A total of 119 [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , 85 , 8...…”

“…Bradford’s law is a useful tool for analyzing the distribution of information, as well as to better understand its structure and how the different aspects of a topic are related to one another. Taking this into account, the present analysis established that, of the 71 journals reported, the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management (Q1) with 11 publications [ 57 , 62 , 65 , 70 , 77 , 81 , 87 , 99 , 103 , 109 , 124 ], the Journal of Palliative Medicine (Q2) with 10 [ 59 , 71 , 89 , 91 , 93 , 96 , 98 , 131 , 148 ], the Journal of Religion and Health (not JCR) with 7 [ 58 , 63 , 67 , 78 , 107 , 112 , 118 ], Nursing Ethics (Q1) with 6 [ 39 , 56 , 69 , 73 , 75 , 104 ], Journal of Medical Ethics (Q1) with 4 [ 53 , 100 , 102 , 106 ] and BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care (not JCR) with 3 publications [ 68 , 85 , 97 ] were the central sources, with accounting for only 8.5% of the total. See Figure 1 .…”

Investigating spiritual care perceptions and religious coping methods among the relatives of terminally ill patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: the case of Turkey

“…Isolation, visitor restrictions, and fear of death have exacerbated existing difficulties by preventing communication and access to religious rituals. [11]. The pandemic has created an environment where both religiosity and spirituality can play a vital role.…”