Introduction:
Futile therapy should be understood as treatment that prolongs dying, increases suffering, but for which the clinical goal cannot be met. People differ in their attitudes toward this issue.

Aim:
The aim of this study was to determine whether stress coping strategies affect the way people understand topics related to futile therapy and whether a simple educational intervention could be beneficial.

Material and methods:
Non-medically educated participants (n = 117) and non-ICU nurses (n = 46) took part in the study. The Brief COPE questionnaire was used to assess coping strategies. Non-medically educated participants were rando­mized to the study and control groups. A slide with written information about futile therapy was presented to participants in the study group. Subsequently, all participants completed a short survey consisting of three questions. They were asked whether they would expect intensive treatment of a loved one until the end, whether they believed that refraining from certain therapies may be beneficial for the patient, and whether they agreed that futile therapy exists.

Results:
Nurses presented the highest level of understanding of the topic. Nurses with a higher level of problem-focused coping tended to understand the futile therapy better (positive correlation, r = 0.44; p = 0.002), whilst dysfunctional stress coping strategy correlated negatively (r = –0.32; p = 0.03). The control group represented the lowest level of understanding. Higher education was associated with better understanding among non-medically educated participants.

Conclusions:
A relatively simple intervention may significantly increase the understanding of futile therapy related topics among non-medically educated participants. It is worth explaining to relatives the nature of the issue in order to potentially improve communication.