看護師によるエンゼルケア実施後の遺体トラブルの発生頻度と葬儀担当者からの要望

Frequency of Troubles with the Condition of Deceased Persons' Bodies, and the Morticians' Request for Nurses: A Questionnaire on Postmortem Care

要旨

　目的：看護師によるエンゼルケア実施後の遺体トラブルの発生頻度と，エンゼルケアに関する葬儀担当者から看護師への要望を明らかにする．

　方法：看護師がエンゼルケアを行った遺体を過去3ヶ月に20件以上担当した葬儀担当者2,538名を対象に，自己記入式質問紙調査を実施した．回答のあった215名のうち，110名分を分析した（回収率8.5％，有効回答率4.3％）．

　結果：過去3ヶ月に遺体トラブルを経験した葬儀担当者は75.5％であった．遺体トラブルの発生頻度は「開口（29.4％）」，「その人らしくない髪型（23.6％）」など，顔まわりのトラブルが多かった．葬儀担当者は看護師のエンゼルケアに対して様々な要望を持っていた．

　結論：看護師のエンゼルケアには多くの課題があることが示唆された．故人の尊厳を守り，遺族へのグリーフケアにつなげるためにも，看護師はエンゼルケア技術の向上を図る必要がある．

　Objectives: To reveal the frequency of troubles with the condition of bodies of deceased people after postmortem care by nurses and the requests of morticians concerning postmortem care.

　Methods: A self-administered questionnaire survey on postmortem care by nurses was conducted with 2,538 morticians who had embalmed more than 20 bodies in the last 3 months. We collected 215 respondents, and 110 valid responses were analyzed (response rate: 8.5％, valid responses rate: 4.3％).

　Results: The rate of morticians who experienced troubles with the deceased person's body in the past 3 months was 75.5％. The most commonly reported trouble was related to the face, such as "opened mouth (29.4％)" and "the hair style not suiting the deceased person (23.6％)." Morticians expressed various requests for nurses' postmortem care.

　Conclusion: This study suggests that nurses' postmortem care has many issues. To protect the dignity of deceased people and provide grief care for the bereaved family, nurses should improve postmortem care skills.