Factors Related to Fear of Death among Community Dwelling Older Adults Living Alone with Chronic Diseases

Abstract

This descriptive research aimed to 1) describe the fear of death, and 2) examine relationships of personal factors and social support with fear of death among community-dwelling older adults living alone with chronic diseases. The sample consisted of 262 older adults living alone with chronic diseases in a province of the northeastern region. Data were collected using the demographic characteristics, social support and fear of death questionnaire and analyzed using Descriptive statistics, Biserial correlation, and Spearman’s rank correlation. The findings revealed that the mean age of the participant was 70.92 years. More than half of them had social support at a moderate level, and the fear of death at a high level. Correlation analysis revealed that income and education were significantly negatively associated with the fear of death,
while overall social support, tangible, and appraisal support were significantly positively associated with the fear of death. However, sex, age, and marital status were not associated with it. Therefore, in caring for this group, it is necessary to assess their fear of death,promote the family and related persons to participate in care, and provide information to educate older adults living alone about their illness and treatment, especially those with low education and low incomes. These caring actions will help them become more
confident in their self-care and might reduce the fear of death.
Keywords: Older adults with chronic disease, Living alone, Community, Fear of death,
Social support