Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Multicenter Study
. 2025 Apr 17;13(1):399.
doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-02711-2.

Predictive model of death acceptance among Thai Buddhist patients with chronic diseases

Nguyen Hoang Long  1 , Sureeporn Thanasilp  2 , Janya Chimluang  3 , Kanoklekha Suwannapong  4 , Wilailuck Tantitrakul  5 , Andrew W Taylor-Robinson  6   7 , Noppamat Pudtong  3 , Ratchaneekorn Upasen  3
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Predictive model of death acceptance among Thai Buddhist patients with chronic diseases

Nguyen Hoang Long et al. BMC Psychol. .

Abstract

Background: A chronic disease generally leads to a decline in patients' health and shortened lives. This cross-sectional study examined death acceptance and related factors among Thai Buddhists diagnosed with chronic diseases.

Methods: A convenience sample of 423 patients recruited from five tertiary hospitals in Thailand completed self-reported questionnaires.

Results: Respondents reported a moderately high level of death acceptance, with a mean score of 39.59 ± 6.52 (out of 48.00). Death anxiety, Buddhist practices, Buddhist belief, and self-efficacy explained 28% of the variance of death acceptance (R2 = 0.28; F = 25.27; p < 0.001). Among variables, Buddhist belief was the strongest predictor of death acceptance (β = 0.26, t = 5.74, p < 0.01), followed by death anxiety (β = -0.23, t = -4.84, p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Investigation of additional variables is recommended to enhance the model's predictability. Longitudinal studies on how Buddhists' death acceptance changes with disease chronicity are needed to understand this phenomenon fully. Examining whether a causal relationship exists between death anxiety and death acceptance is also recommended.

Clinical trial number: Not applicable.

Keywords: Buddhist; Chronic disease; Death acceptance; Death anxiety; Death attitude.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study complied with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethical Committee of each of the five hospitals where it took place. They were Buddhachinaraj Phitsanulok Hospital (approval number: COA No.025, IRB No. 030/64), Udonthani Hospital (approval number: UDH REC No.34/2564), Ratchaburi Hospital (approval number: COA-RBHEC007/2021), Somdech Phra Nangchao Sirikit Hospital (approval number: COA-NMB-REC 010/64), and Maharaj Nakhon Si Thammarat Hospital (approval number: COE No. 38/2564 REC No. 7/2564). Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to administering the questionnaires. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

References

    1. GBD 2019 Diseases and Injuries Collaborators. Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2019. Lancet. 2020;396:1204–22. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rinnenburger D. The Strain of Being Chronically Ill. In: Chronicity: Treating and coping. edn. Edited by Rinnenburger D. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2021:21–24.
    1. Khawar M, Aslam N, Aamir S. Perceived social support and death anxiety among patients with chronic diseases. Pakistan J Med Researc. 2013;52(3):75–9.
    1. Tadi A, Gheibizadeh M, Ghanbari Chah Anjiri S. Death anxiety and associated factors in the hospitalized and Non-hospitalized elderly with chronic diseases in Ahvaz. Jundishapur J Chronic Disease Care. 2022;11(4):e121525.
    1. Howell D, Brazil K. Reaching common ground: A Patient-Family-Based conceptual framework of quality EOL care. J Palliat Care. 2005;21(1):19–26. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources