목적: 본 연구는 암환자를 돌보는 간호사들을 대상으로 간호사의 영성, 죽음불안 및 소진 정도를 확인하고, 세 변수들간의 관계를 파악하고자 한 서술적 조사 연구이다. 방법: 대상자는 서울에 소재하는 일개 암 전문 종합병원에서 근무하는 간호사 210명을 대상으로 하였다. 자료는 2012년 4월부터 6월까지 수집하였으며, 수집한자료는 SPSS 19.0 program을 사용하여 t-test, one-way ANOVA, Scheff'e test, Pearson's correlation coefficient로 분석하였다. 결과: 영성은 6점 만점에 평균 3.51점이었으며, 하위영역별로는 삶의 의미와 목적, 관계성, 내적 자원, 초월성 순으로 높았다. 죽음불안은 5점 만점에 평균 3.22점이었으며, 하위영역별로는 죽음의 부인, 짧은 시간 지각, 죽음에 대한 두려움, 죽음 연관 문제에 대한 두려움 순으로 높았다. 소진 정도는 7점 만점에 평균 4.10점이었으며, 하위영역별로는 정서적 소모, 비 인간화, 개인적 성취감 감소 순으로 높았다. 영성은 죽음불안(r=-0.327, P=0.01)과 소진 정도(r=-0.690, P=0.01)에 역상관관계가 있었으며, 소진은 죽음불안(r=0.550, P=0.01)과 정상관 관계가 있었다. 결론: 본 연구 결과를 바탕으로 간호사들의 영성을 높이고, 그들의 죽음불안과 소진 정도를 낮출 수 있는 영적 중재를 제공하는 것을 제안한다.
Purpose: This study is to explore the relationships among spirituality, death anxiety and burnout level of nurses caring for cancer patients. Methods: Participants were 210 nurses from a cancer hospital in Seoul. Data were collected from April until June 2012 and analyzed using t-test, one-way ANOVA, Scheffe's test, and Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: The mean score for spirituality was 3.51 out of six. Among sub-categories, the one that scored the highest was the purpose and meaning of life, followed by unifying interconnectedness, inner resources and transcendence. The mean score for death anxiety was 3.22, and the sub-categories in the order of high score were denial of death, awareness of the shortness of time, pure death anxiety and fear of matters related to death. For the burnout, the mean was 4.10. Among sub-categories, highest mark was found with emotional exhaustion, followed by depersonalization and personal accomplishment. The spirituality level was negatively correlated with those of death anxiety and burnout. Death anxiety was positively correlated with burnout levels. Nurses with the higher spirituality level also had a higher level of education and experience of spiritual education, believed in the existence of God. In contrast, death anxiety and burnout levels were higher among those with a lower level of education, atheists, and for those who answered that religion has little influence on life. Conclusion: Thus, it is necessary to provide spiritual interventions for nurses who care for cancer patients to develop their spirituality, reduce death anxiety and prevent them from burning out easily.