Background: As a critical force for the future development of hospice care, death education for nursing students plays an essential role in the provision of hospice care services. However, current research has overlooked the heterogeneity of death education needs among individuals, and few studies have explored the influencing factors of death education needs and its relationship with hospice attitude of nursing interns. Objective: A latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted to identify the unique characteristics of death education needs among nursing interns in China and to explore the influencing factors of death education needs and its relationship with hospice attitude of nursing interns. Design: Cross-sectional survey. Settings: A tertiary hospital in Shandong Province, China. Participants: The sample consisted of nursing interns (N = 225) from five medical universities. Methods: Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to establish a latent profile model for death education needs among nursing interns in China. Binary logistic regression analysis was then performed to examine the predictors of high death education needs based on the different latent profiles. Results: Nursing interns' death education needs could be categorized into two latent groups: a “Low-level needs-higher views of death” group (26.2 %) and a “High-level needs” group (73.8 %). Binary logistic regression analysis, with the Low-level needs-higher views of death as the reference, revealed that educational level, experience of bereavement, occasional opportunities to care for the dying, and attitudes toward hospice care were significant predictors of nursing interns' death education needs. Conclusions: Death education needs among nursing interns in China exhibit distinct profiling characteristics. Nursing interns with higher educational levels, experience of bereavement, opportunities to care for the dying, and positive attitudes toward hospice care are more likely to fall into the “High-level needs” group. These findings provide valuable insights for the development of future death education training models. © 2025
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