A Meta Analysis on Variables related to Death Anxiety of Elderly in Korea

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to provide basic data by surveying the literature for the past fifteen years (2001-2015). The focus of the search was death anxiety among the elderly. Methods: Sixty-two published works including graduate theses were selected for the Meta-analysis. Results: Study results showed that variables related to familial factors were the most often cited in the review of the manuscripts as relevant to death anxiety among the elderly. Specifically family support was most important. The other variables reported in the literature review were classified into four other groupings: social, physical, psychological, and demographics. The significant variable in the social grouping was religious activities, health promotion in the physical grouping and ego integrity in the psychological group. Conclusion: This study could provide effect sizes of variables based on materials, which are needed to make an intervention program that is related to death anxiety of the elderly. Since this study identified major variables as significant to death anxiety, several distinctions within these variables can be further studied as these relate to death anxiety.