attitude toward death in healthy people and patients with diabetes and cancer

background: a person's beliefs can influence the progression of his/her disease; and battling an illness can trigger severe anxiety about death. this study aims to compare the attitude toward death between healthy people and those suffering from diabetes and cancer. methods: in a cross-sectional study, 300 individuals were selected by convenient sampling method. three groups were matched by gender, age, education, and monthly income. information was collected through a death attitude profile-revised (dapr) questionnaire and analyzed via covariance (ancova). results: the results indicated no difference in death attitude among the three groups (f=2.705, p<0.05). all the three groups displayed a higher mean in neutral and approach acceptance. conclusion: in this study, it was found that disease did not seem to change death attitudes; rather the patients' current attitude had been shaped by previous stages of their sickness. please cite this article as: nozari m, dousti y. attitude toward death in healthy people and patients with diabetes and cancer. iran j cancer prev. 2013; 6(2):95-100. references 1. ghorbanalipour m, borjali a, sohrabi f, falsafinejad m. investigate death anxiety and age on health promoting behavior. journal of oroomie medical science.2010; 21(2): 286-92 (full text is in persian) . 2. amani f, kazemnejad a, habibi r, hajizadeh e. pattern of mortality trend in iran during 1970-2009. j gorganuni med sci. 2011; 12 (4): 85-90 (full text is in persian). 3. neimeyer ra, wittkowski j, moser rp. psychological research on death attitudes: an overview and evaluation. death stud.2004; 28: 309-40. 4. bitsko m, stern m, dillon r, russell ec, laver j. happiness and time perspective as potential mediators of quality of life and depression in adolescent cancer. pediatric blood & cancer. 2008; 50(3): 613-19. 5. van laarhoven hw, schildermanj, verhagen ca, vissers kc, prins j. perspectives on death and an afterlife in relation to quality of life, depression, and hopelessness in cancer patients without evidence of disease and advanced cancer patients. j pain symptom manage.2011; 41(6):1048-59. 6. neimeyer ra. death anxiety handbook: research, instrumentation, and application. new york: taylor & francis; 1994. 7. zimbardo pg, boyd jn. the time paradox. new york: free press; 2008. 8. hwang hl, lin hs, chen wt.  evaluation of life and death studies course on attitude toward life and death among nursing students.  kaohsiung j med sci. 2005; 21(12):552-60. 9. masoudzadeh a, setareh j, mohammadpour r, modanlookordi ma. survey of death anxiety among personnel of a hospital in sari. j mazandaran univ med sci. 2008; 18(67): 84-90 (full text is in persian) . 10. mehnert a, koch u. psychometric evaluation of the german version of the life attitude profile-revised (lap-r) in prostate cancer patients. palliat support care. 2008; 6(2):119-24. 11. hatamloy-sadabadi m, babapour – karedin j, porsharifi h. the role of general causality orientations on self-care behaviors in patients with type 2 diabetes. journal of behavioral sciences. 2011; 5(3): 245-51(full text is in persian) . 12. wong p, reker g, gesser g. death attitude profile revised. in: neimeyer r. death anxiety handbook: research, instrumentation and application (series in death education, aging and health care). taylor and francis, washington: 1994. 13. bagherian s, iranmanesh s, abbaszadeh a. comparison of bam and kerman nursing student’s attitude about death and dying. journal of qualitative research in health sciences. 2010; 9(1):54-60. 14. fountoulakisa kn, siamoulia m, magiriaa s, kaprinisa g. late-life depression, religiosity, cerebrovascular disease, cognitive impairment and attitudes towards death in the elderly: interpreting the data. med hypotheses. 2008; 70(3): 493-6. 15. depaola sj, neimeyer ra, & ross sk. death concern and attitudes toward the elderly in nursing home personnel as a function of training. omega. 1994; 29:  231-48. 16. mackenize er, rajagopal de, melibhom m, lavizzomourey r. spiritual support and psychological well being: older adults perception of the religion and health connection. alternther health med. 2000; 6:37-45. 17. mohammadzadeh a, najafi m. prognosis of death obsession based on religion orientation: investigate role of sex. journal of clinical psychology.2010; 2(3): 65-72 (full text is in persian) . 18. dezutter j, luyckx k, bussinga, hutsebaut d. exploring the link between religious attitude and subjective well-being in chronic pain patients. int j psychiatry med. 2009; 39(4):393-404. 19. dezutter j, soenens b, luyckx k, bruyneel s, vansteenkiste m, duriez b, et al. the role of religion in death attitudes: distinguishing between religious belief and style of processing religious contents. death stud. 2009; 33(1): 73-92.