• Ardith Z Doorenbos, Sarah A Wilson, and Amy Coenen.
• School of Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. doorenbo@u.washington.edu
• J Nurs Scholarsh. 2006 Jan 1; 38 (4): 352-7.

PurposeTo describe the characteristics of dignified dying and other terminology nurses used to describe this phenomenon in Ethiopia, India, Kenya, and the United States (US).DesignA cross-sectional descriptive survey with a convenience sample of nurses who cared for dying patients in Ethiopia (n=14), India (n=229), Kenya (n=36), and the US (n=281). Data were collected between 2002 and 2004.MethodsNurses were recruited to complete the ICNP Dignified Dying survey, which consists of demographic information, 2 open-ended questions, and 14 questions about characteristics of dignified dying.FindingsThe 14 characteristics on the dignified dying scale reliably measured dignified dying, with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of .91. All characteristics were rated as representative of dignified dying, with content validity scores ranging from .62 to .77. Factor analysis yielded a two-factor solution, which accounted for 53% of the variance.ConclusionsFindings of this study contribute to the ongoing development of the International Classification of Nursing Practice (ICNP) regarding the nursing phenomenon of dignified dying. The ICNP a unified nursing language system, is used to promote and facilitate scholarly exchange among nurses across countries.

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