Learning from the Film “Mitorishi (Transition Doula)”—Application to Understanding the End-of-Life in a Gerontological Nursing Practice Course in Japan

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to detail what nursing students learned from watching the film "Mitorishi", which was used among the teaching materials in a gerontological nursing practice course in nursing education in Japan, and demonstrate the applicability of using the film as an element relevant to the teaching of end-of-life care in Japan. Methods: The participants were fourthyear nursing students at University A who had watched the film "Mitorishi" during the course, had submitted a report on what they learned, and provided informed consent to the study participation. The reports submitted by the participants were used as data and analyzed qualitatively using the content analysis approach. Results: The analysis identified the following five categories (number of codes): Characteristics of life during the final days (9), Importance of views on life and death (3), Importance of end-of-life care (3), Assistance in preparation for the final days of life (13), and Understanding the profession of transition doula (9). Discussion: The five categories show that the students have learned about the "role of nurses at the time of endof-life care" while "visualizing end-of-life care" and learning "preparedness for end-of-life care". These findings suggest that using the film "Mitorishi" in the teaching curriculum is effective for learning about end-of-life care for older people.