Corretal2018glossterms Flashcards
Death Cafe
both a social movement and a series of individual events or informal, pop-up gatherings in which people (mostly strangers) are invited to come together without a pre-set agenda for a discussion of death-related topics while sharing food and drink
Death education
teaching and learning about death-related subjects, such as dying and bereavement
Dimensions of education about death, dying, and bereavement
cognitive, affective, behavioral, and valuational
Formal education about death, dying, and bereavement
planned and organized instruction involving death-related topics
Informal education about death, dying, and bereavement
death-related education emerging from everyday experiences and exchanges
Teachable moments
unanticipated life events that offer important occasions for developing educational insights and lessons, as well as for personal growth
Average life expectancy (ALE)
an estimate of the average number of years members of a group of people are projected to live
Communicable diseases
diseases that can be transmitted or spread from person to person
Cure-oriented medicine
medical science and health care practice primarily designed to cure, reverse the course, or halt/slow the advance of diseases or other life-threatening conditions
Death rates
numbers of deaths among members of a given population group divided by the total number of those in the group; usually expressed as some number of deaths per 1,000 or 100,000 individuals
Degenerative diseases
diseases that usually result from long-term wearing out of body organs, typically associated with aging, lifestyle, and environment
Dying trajectories
patterns of dying or the ways in which dying plays out, typically distinguished by duration (the time between the onset of dying and the arrival of death) and shape (the course of the dying, its predictability, and whether death is expected or unexpected)
Encounters with death, dying, and bereavement
ways in which we confront or meet up with death-related events
Extended family
a large kinship group whose members often live near each other
Industrialization
the organization of the means of production, especially manufacturing, into industries; often involving mechanization versus hand labor
Living-dying interval
the period between the onset of dying and the arrival of death
Place of death
the physical place in which death occurs, for example, in a home or public institution
Preventive health care
medical and health care primarily designed to prevent or minimize the likelihood of acquiring disease or putting one’s life at risk
Public health measures
community actions to protect or improve the health of society’s members, for example, to provide safe drinking water and to dispose of sewage, garbage, and other contaminants
Ars moriendi
literally, the “art of dying,” a practice that focused on what one do to die well
Death anxiety
concerns or worries related in some way to death
Death-related attitude
a more or less settled way of being in the world, presenting oneself to the world, behaving or acting that reflects some belief, opinion, or feeling related to death
Forbidden death
a death-related attitude that views death as offensive and unacceptable, something to be denied and hidden from public view; a phrase from Ariès
Pornography of death
a death-related attitude much like forbidden death, implying that death is dirty and indecent, and yet somehow titillating and intriguing; a phrase from Gorer
Tame death
a death-related attitude that views death as familiar and simple, a public event mainly affecting the community; a phrase from Ariès
Terror management theory
a theory in social psychology arguing that the unique ability of humans to become aware of the inevitability of their deaths produces anxiety, denial, and terror; efforts to manage such terror are seen in individual behaviors and the symbolic cultural systems that seek to provide life with meaning and value.
Accidents
unintentional injuries
Death-related language
speech that employs language about death to describe or intensify talk about subjects that have nothing to do with death
Death-related practices
familiar routines, procedures, and actions that follow from or are related to death-related encounters and actions
Death system
the formal or informal structure that every society employs to mediate between death and its members; composed of specific components designed to perform particular functions
Ethnic cleansing
using force or threats to make an area ethnically homogeneous by removing from that area persons of another ethnic or religious group
Euphemism
language that substitutes a word or expression that is thought to be less distasteful or offensive for one more exactly descriptive of what is intended
Fantasized death
unrealistic portraits of death (in the media)
Genocide
the annihilation or attempted annihilation of an entire race of people
The Holocaust
a genocidal attempt by the Nazis during the late 1930s and early 1940s to completely destroy or annihilate the Jewish people
Homicide
the action of one human being that kills another human being (sometimes called “assault”)
Human-induced death
death resulting from the actions or inactions of human beings
Language about death
speech about topics like death, dying, and bereavement
Nuclear era
the period from July 1945 to the present during which the splitting of the atom unleashed a new form of power that can be used for weapons or as a source of energy
Socially sanctioned killing
societal actions intended to bring about killing and/ or death among their own members or among members of other societies, for example, war or genocide
Terrorism
violent acts or threats designed to intimidate or create fear on behalf of some religious, political, or ideological goal while deliberately targeting or disregarding the safety of noncombatant civilians
Thanotechnology
Technology-related resources about grief and loss, such as videos and computer programs
African Americans
Americans whose cultural origins trace back to the Black cultures of the African continent (especially West African nations)
American Indians (sometimes called Native Americans or “First Nations Peoples”:
Americans whose cultural origins trace back to the indigenous populations of North America (for statistical purposes, this group often includes Native Alaskans)
Asian Americans
Americans whose cultural origins trace back to the Asian continent
Cultural patterns
distinctive features arising from a unified set of values, ideas, beliefs, and standards of behavior shared by a group of people
Hispanic Americans
Americans whose cultural origins trace back to countries in which the dominant language is Spanish (e.g., Cuba, Mexico, and Puerto Rico, as well as Central and South American countries)
Pacific Island Americans
Americans whose cultural origins trace back to the Pacific Islands (e.g., Hawaii and Samoa)
Awareness contexts
social interactions among those who are coping with dying arising from the types of communication about the facts of the situation
Coping
changing efforts made to manage perceived stressors
Dying trajectories
patterns of dying or the ways in which dying plays out, typically distinguished by duration (the time between the onset of dying and the arrival of death) and shape (the course of the dying, its predictability, and whether death is expected or unexpected)
Five phases in living with a life-threatening illness
according to Doka, these are the prediagnostic, acute, chronic, recovery, and terminal phases
Hope
expectations that one looks forward to based on faith and trust; here, related to coping with dying
Stage-based model of coping with dying
Kübler-Ross named five “stages” (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) in how persons coping react to and attempt to manage their stressors
Task-based model of coping with dying
Corr identified four areas of task work in coping with dying – physical, psychological, social, and spiritual
Active listening
making oneself available to another without interference from one’ own concerns; being fully attentive to the needs and concerns of het other
Acute pain
distress in any dimension of an individual’s life that is characteristically time limited, although it may recur; may be mild, moderate, or intense
Addiction
a form of habitual dependence upon analgesics (e.g., narcotic drugs) characterized by psychological “highs” and a subsequent craving for steadily escalating doses
Burnout
an extreme form of compassion fatigue when helpers become physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted, especially because of long-term involvement with emotionally taxing situations coupled with a sense of powerlessness and an inability to achieve their goals as providers of care
Chronic pain
distress in any dimension of an individual’s life that is characteristically ongoing and not time limited; may be mild, moderate, or intense
Compassion
“feeling with” another person, involving presence, active listening, and empathy; to be contrasted with “pity” that always implies a “looking down upon”
Compassion fatigue
a condition in which helpers feel emotionally drained as a result of intense or long-term involvement in emotionally demanding situations
Dependence
reliance upon drugs or other supports that does not necessarily imply the features of addiction; requires that the drug or other support can be terminated or withdrawn in a phased fashion (not “cold turkey”) to avoid undesirable side effects
Detached concern or detached compassion
a way of entering into the situation of the person being helped that enables the helper to continue to function effectively in the helping role
Effective communication
interactions whose specific acts are responsive to the needs of the other and are carried out in a thoughtful and caring way; both the content of the exchange and the ways in which it is expressed and understood are important
Empathetic presence
making oneself available to a person in distress; characterized by active listening, empathy, and compassion
Four dimensions of care for individuals who are coping with dying
(1) Physical dimensions - designed to address bodily pain or other sources of corporeal distress, (2) Psychological dimensions - designed to address emotional or cognitive distress, (3) Social dimensions - designed to address interpersonal tensions or difficulties as well as interactions with social groups or organizations, (4) Spiritual dimensions - designed to assist individuals in their search for meaning, for establishing, reestablishing, and maintaining connectedness with oneself, other persons and what the person perceives as the transcendent
Hope
expectations that one looks forward to based on faith and trust; may involve different prospects
Nearing death awareness
communications from a dying person that reflect either (1) special awareness of the imminence of death and efforts to describe what dying is like as it is being experienced by the individual or (2) expressions of final requests about what is needed before the individual can experience a peaceful death
Stress
hardship or adversity that imposes pressure or strain; here associated with death-related issues
Trauma stewardship
caring for others and responding to their suffering in a thoughtful, intentional way by developing a quality of compassionate presence
Acute care
cure-oriented services that diagnose and treat specific diseases with the goal of returning an individual to full health or at least to halting or slowing the progression of the disease
Chronic care
services for persons who need rehabilitation or who cannot perform activities of daily living
End-of-life care
services for persons who are nearing death and for their family members
Home care
nursing and other ancillary services delivered to individuals in their places of residence
Home health care programs
organizations that deliver home care services
Hospice care
services designed to implement the hospice philosophy; a form of palliative care offered near the end of life
Hospice philosophy
an outlook, attitude, or approach to care that affirms life and attempts to maximize present quality in living for patient and family units who are coping with dying
Hospice programs
organizations that deliver hospice services by offering holistic care to dying persons and their family members using an interdisciplinary team
Hospitals
organizations delivering acute care services; often called “medical centers” or “health centers”
Interdisciplinary team
an organized group of professional caregivers and volunteers working together to plan and implement care; typically involves a certain amount of “role blurring”; contrasted with multidisciplinary teamwork in which members of specialized health care professions work largely independently with loose coordination
Long-term care facilities (nursing homes)
institutions that deliver chronic care services; may be residential care, intermediate care, or skilled nursing care facilities
Palliative care
services designed to relieve distressing symptoms of a disease without curing their underlying causes
Pediatric palliative and hospice care
both a philosophy and an organized method for delivering competent, compassionate, and consistent care to children with chronic, complex, and/or life-threatening conditions as well as their families
Anticipatory grief and mourning
experiences of grief and mourning occurring prior to but in connection with a significant loss that is expected to take place
Assumptive world
a conceptual system that provides individuals with expectations about the world and themselves to guide planning and acting
Attachments
relationships through which individuals satisfy fundamental needs
Bereavement
the objective situation of individuals who have experienced a loss of some person or object they valued; three key elements - a relationship or attachment with some person/object that is valued, the loss of that relationship, and an individual deprived of the valued person/object by the loss
Complicated grief reactions or complicated mourning
grief reactions or mourning processes that are abnormal in the sense of being deviant and unhealthy, thereby overwhelming bereaved persons, leading to maladaptive behavior, and inhibiting progress toward satisfactory outcomes in mourning;
Continuing bonds
ongoing connections with a representation of the deceased that can enable the deceased individual to remain a transformed but constant presence in the inner lives of the bereaved
Enriched remembrance
Cantor’s phrase for mourning efforts to restructure the relationship with the lost person/object so as to carry its positive legacies forward into the bereaved individual’s new life
Families or family systems
typically, a key context that influences their members’ experiences of loss, grief, and mourning, may take many forms
Five critical variables influence experiences of bereavement and grief
(1) the nature of the prior attachment; (2) the way in which the loss occurred and the concurrent circumstances of the bereaved person; (3) coping strategies used by the bereaved person; (4) the developmental situation of the bereaved person; (5) the nature of the support available to the bereaved person
Grief
the term that indicates one’s reactions to loss; may include physical, psychological (emotional, cognitive), behavioral, social, or spiritual reactions
Grief work
processes of coping with loss and grief; similar to mourning as that term is used in this book
Grieving
a term used by some to designate the internal or intrapsychic aspects of what we identify in this book as mourning; we prefer to think of grieving as “processes of experiencing and expressing grief”
Guilt
thoughts and feelings that assign blame (often self-blame), fault, or culpability for a loss or death
Intuitive versus instrumental grieving
terms used to contrast two extremes in a spectrum of adaptive grieving styles; intuitive grievers emphasize experiencing and expressing emotion, instrumental grieves focus on practical matters and problem solving
Loss
to be separated from and deprived of a valued person, object, or status by death or in other ways; primary losses involve the ending of a basic attachment; secondary losses follow from a primary loss
Meaning reconstruction
efforts to make sense of loss by finding or creating new meaning in the death of the loved one and in the new life of the bereaved person
Melancholia
Freud’s term for clinical depression
Mourning
responses to loss and grief involving efforts to cope with those experiences and learn to live with them by incorporating them into ongoing living; some writers confine mourning to external or social expressions of grief and rituals used in coping with bereavement
Outcomes of mourning
many laypeople and theoreticians speak of fixed end points like recovery, completion, or resolution; we prefer to think of mourning as an open-ended set of processes that offer opportunities for growth and transformation
Phases in mourning
describes mourning as a series of phases, for example, shock and numbness; yearning and searching; disorganization and despair; reorganization
Processes in mourning
describes mourning as involving processes; for example, the dual process model, adaptive grieving styles, and meaning reconstruction
Realization
Parkes’s term to describe what is involved in “making real” all of the implications of loss; “making real” in one’s inner, subjective world that which is already real in the outer, objective world
Stages in mourning
describes mourning as a series of stages, for example, denial, anger, bargaining depression, and acceptance
Survivors (of bereavement)
individuals who have found their way to healthy living after a death
Tasks in mourning
describes mourning as involving a series of tasks, such as to accept the reality of the loss; to process the pain of grief; to adjust to a world without the deceased; to find an enduring connection with the deceased in the midst of embarking on a new life
Traumatic losses
shocking losses whose objective elements shatter assumptive worlds
Uncomplicated grief reactions
healthy, normal, and appropriate reactions to loss
Victims (of bereavement or trauma)
individuals who have been hurt, harmed, “reaved” by loss
Disenfranchised grief
grief or mourning that persons experience when they incur a loss that is not or cannot be openly acknowledged, publicly mourned, or socially supported
Disenfranchisement
may apply to relationships, losses, grievers, grieving styles, or mourning processes
Five fundamental needs of bereaved persons
social support, nutrition, hydration, exercise, and rest
Grief counseling
helping bereaved persons who are coping with uncomplicated grief and mourning
Grief therapy
helping bereaved persons who are coping with complicated grief reactions
Helping bereaved persons with Affective tasks
assisting with efforts to express emotions and feelings associated with a loss or death in a constructive way
Helping bereaved persons with Behavioral tasks
assisting with efforts to mark or take notice of a death through some external event or deed, as well as with commemorative activities designed to celebrate and remember the life of the deceased or the legacies of that life
Helping bereaved persons with Cognitive tasks
assisting with efforts to obtain information about the loss or death
Helping bereaved persons with Valuational tasks
assisting with efforts to find meaning or to make sense of the loss
Pet loss
death, loss, or ending of a relationship with a pet or companion animal
Unhelpful messages to bereaved persons
typically, these involve attempts to minimize the loss, admonitions not to feel or express strong grief reactions in public, and suggestions to get back to living promptly and not disturb others with one’s grief and mourning
Aftercare programs
informal and formal programs of support for the bereaved, usually offered by funeral service personnel after the funeral and disposition are completed; may include providing death education to the community
Bereavement support groups
organized efforts to help bereaved persons by combining elements of self-help and mutual aid
Burial (in-ground burial)
disposition of the body (or of its “cremains”) by placing it in a casket and then in the ground, usually in a cemetery and often within a vault or grave liner designed to protect the casket and prevent settling of land
Cremains
cremated remains, that is, ash and bone resulting from cremating a body
Cremation
a process of reducing the size of the body typically by subjecting it to intense heat, resulting in ashes and some bone fragments (which may then be ground up or pulverized)
Disposition of the body
removing the body of the deceased from the society of the living
Embalming
removal of blood and bodily fluids from a corpse, together with their replacement with artificial preservatives intended to retard decomposition and color the skin
Entombment
disposition of the body or its remains by placing them in a mausoleum, crypt, or other aboveground, tomblike structure
Flameless cremation
the use of chemicals and heat to dissolve soft tissues of the body
Funerals or funeral practices
formal services to mark a death and celebrate a life with the body present in a casket
Green or natural burial
interment of the body of a dead person in the soil in a manner that does not inhibit decomposition but allows the body to recycle naturally
Hospice bereavement follow-up programs
services offered to family members before and after the death of a hospice patient or to community members experiencing loss
Making real the implications of death
helping the bereaved to grasp the import of the death; often implemented through formal activities of separation from the deceased
Memorial activities
activities intended to commemorate the life or legacy of someone who has died
Memorial services
formal services to mark a death and celebrate a life without the presence of a body
Online grief support groups
online groups to help bereaved persons seeking support in place of or in addition to offline support
Reintegration
pulling (back) together the bereaved individuals, family, or society disintegrated by a death
Ritual
corporate or communal symbolic activity, usually involving external (bodily) actions and social participation; designed to contribute order or orientation when crises disrupt life
Support groups for the bereaved
these take many forms, ranging from groups that emphasize assistance with practical problems or whose concerns are primarily social to groups that seek to help individuals cope with loss and grief through mutual aid and self-help
Animism
a view that attributes life and consciousness to objects usually thought of as inanimate
Artificialism
a view in which it is believed that all objects and events in the world have been manufactured to serve people
Causality
understanding events or conditions that do or can bring about the death of a living thing
Developmental eras in childhood
infancy, toddlerhood, early childhood (also called the play age or preschool period), and middle childhood (also called the school age or latency period)
Irreversibility
once a thing is dead, it cannot become alive again (barring miracles)
Magical thinking
a view in which all events are explained by the causal influence of various commands, intentions, and forces
Noncorporeal continuation
a view that some life form continues after the death of the physical body
Nonfunctionality
a dead body can no longer act in ways like a live body
Normative developmental tasks in childhood
to develop trust versus mistrust in infancy, autonomy versus shame and doubt in toddlerhood, initiative versus guilt in early childhood, and industry versus inferiority in middle childhood
Pediatric palliative and hospice care
the application of palliative and hospice principles to situations involving children and their family members
Adolescence
the era in human development occurring between childhood and adulthood; often characterized by the developmental task of achieving individuation and the establishment of a more or less stable sense of personal identity; not necessarily coextensive with the teenage years
Developmental eras in adolescence
early, middle, and late adolescence
Early adolescence
a period dominated by the goal of achieving emotional separation from parents and the conflict of separation versus reunion
Homicide among adolescents
currently the second leading cause of death (following accidents) in the United States among persons 15-24 years of age; especially notable as a cause of death among nonwhite males who are middle and late adolescents
Late adolescence
a period dominated by the goal of achieving intimacy and commitment and the conflict of closeness versus distance
Leading influences on adolescent understandings of death
ambiguities or tensions arising from biological, cognitive, social, and emotional factors, together with the digital era
Middle adolescence
a period dominated by the goal of achieving competency, mastery, or control and the conflict of independence versus dependence
Normative developmental tasks in adolescence
conceptualized by Erikson as involving a tension between “identity» vs. “role confusion”; successful resolution of this polarity leads to the virtue of “fidelity”
Postvention
after-the-fact interventions for individuals affected by traumatic loss
Suicide among adolescents
currently the third leading cause of death in the United States among persons 15-24 years of age; especially notable as a cause of death among white males who are middle and late adolescents
Developmental eras in adulthood
young adulthood and middle adulthood
Fetal death
death resulting from miscarriage, stillbirth, or spontaneous abortion
Generativity
maintaining productivity in one’s life and projects; typically involves reassessing or reevaluating the meaning and direction of one’s life, conserving or considering prospects for the continuation or enduring value in one’s legacies, and preparatory efforts to put one’s affairs in order
Intimacy
the ability to be open, supportive, and close with another person, without fear of losing oneself in the process
Midlife transition
the transition from young to middle adulthood
Normative developmental tasks in adulthood
to achieve intimacy (vs. the danger of isolation) in young adulthood; to pursue generativity (vs. the danger of stagnation or self-absorption) in middle adulthood
Sandwich generation
adults who experience pressures from both older and younger generations
Adult child
an individual who is an adult, but also the living child of an older parent
Ageism
Butler’s term for systematic stereotyping and discrimination against people because they are old
Bereavement overload
Kastenbaum’s phrase for a situation in which individuals (especially older adults) do not have the time or other resources needed to process their grief and mourn one significant loss effectively before another occurs
Developmental eras in older adulthood
(1) the “young old” (those 65-74 years of age), (2) the “old old” (those 75-84 years of age), and (3) the “oldest old” or “very old” (those 85 years of age and older), although in fact these are chronological rather than developmental distinctions
Developmental tasks in older adulthood
Erikson’s theory involves a tension between “egointegrity” versus “despair”; successfully resolving this polarity leads to the virtues of “renunciation and wisdom”
Ego integrity
Erikson’s term to describe the attainment of an inner sense of whole ness; also described as “self-actualization” or “reconciliation”
Forgotten grievers
a term sometimes applied to grandparents who experience a double loss over the death of a grandchild and over the losses experienced by that child’s parents) (their son or daughter)
Graying of America
a term pointing to the growing share of older adults in the population
Life review
a process of introspection, heightened interiority, self-reflection, and reminiscence, designed to resolve old conflicts and develop a new sense of meaning as means to achieve integrity, account to oneself for one’s past life, and prepare for death (Butler)
Maturity
the term that Erikson substituted for “senescence” to designate the concluding period in the human life course; now more commonly replaced by “older adulthood” or “late adulthood”
Normative developmental task of older adulthood
the achievement of ego integrity (versus despair or disgust; according to Erikson); self-actualization (Maslow); reconciliation (Birren)
Older adulthood
an era in the human life course that follows “middle adulthood” or “middle age”; sometimes called “late adulthood”; includes those who are 65 years of age or older; encompasses distinctions within this era between the “young old,” the “old old,” and the “very old”
Senescence
Erikson’s initial term for the last era in the human life course; replaced by the term maturity
Suicide among older adults
older adults in the United States have recently had the highest rates of suicide among all developmental groups; often involves deliberate behavior plus depression
Advance directives
instructions from an individual about actions that the individual would or would not want to be taken if he or she were somehow incapacitated and unable to join in making decisions
Artificial means
interventions or supports used or sustain life or bodily functioning
Case law
legal precedents arising from court decisions
Common law
shared values and views drawn from English and early American legal and social history; now, typically represented by definitions contained in standard legal dictionaries
Conditions of Participation
federal regulations under which hospitals that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding must cooperate in specified ways to facilitate organ donation
Coroner
originally, the representative of the crown in England; currently in the United States, an elected official authorized to investigate the deaths of individuals in specific circumstances
Death certificate
a legal document recording time and cause of death, and other significant information
Definition of death
a statement of the conditions under which an individual is understood to be dead
Determination of death
the process (or its result) by which competent authorities employ tests or criteria to decide whether death has actually occurred
Donation after brain death
applies to individuals who have experienced brain death and who then become organ and/or tissue donors; authorized by next-of-kin or their own expressed wishes
Donation after cardiac death
applies to individuals who have not experienced brain death, but who become organ and/or tissue donors after next-of-kin authorize removal of life-sustaining interventions and permit donation; formerly called “non-heart-beating donors”
Donor rights legislation
laws establishing registries allowing individuals 18 years of age or older to give “first-person consent,” i.e., a legally binding authorization for organ and/or tissue donation
Durable powers of attorney in health care matters
advance directives through which an individual can authorize another individual to make decisions and take actions on his or her behalf under specific circumstances; both the directive and the individual appointed to act are sometimes called a “health care proxy”
Estate taxes
taxes levied on the assets of a person who has died
First-person consent
legislation allowing individuals 18 years of age or older to make a legally binding decision to authorize organ and tissue donation in the event of death
“Five Wishes”
a type of advance directive that is intended to be easy to understand simple to use, personal in character, and thorough
Harvard criteria
tests developed to determine the existence of irreversible coma
Health care proxy
see Durable powers of attorney in health care matters
Inheritance taxes
taxes levied by a government on the assets a beneficiary inherits from the estate of someone who has died
Intestate
the condition of an individual who dies without leaving a valid will or other legally qualified statement concerning the distribution of his or her estate or property
Living donor
a living individual who donates blood, one of a pair of twinned organs, a portion of certain organs, or certain bodily tissues for transplantation, research, or educational purposes
Living wills
advance directives intended to refuse certain cure-oriented interventions (“artificial means” or “heroic measures”) not desired by an individual, ask that dying be permitted to take its natural course, and request that associated suffering be mitigated with effective palliative care
Medical examiner
a qualified medical doctor (usually a forensic pathologist) appointed to replace a coroner, especially in large, urban centers
NASH system
a fourfold classification system for identifying manner of death (natural, accidental, suicide, or homicide)
Natural death legislation
authorizes living wills or durable powers of attorney in health care matters
Non-heart beating donors
donors who have experienced cardiac death
Nonliving or deceased donors
individuals who have experienced brain death or cardiac death prior to donation and the subsequent recovery of one or more of their organs or tissues for transplantation, research, or educational purposes
NOTA
the National Organ Transplant Act, enacted by Congress in 1984 to regulate the procurement and transplantation of human organs
OPO
an organ procurement organization; an authorized local or regional agency that offers the opportunity of organ donation and recovers donated organs
OPT
the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, established by NOTA to facilitate procurement and distribution of scarce human organs in a fair and equitable way by matching donated organs with potential transplant recipients
Organ, tissue, or body donation
making a gift of a human organ, tissue, or body for medical, research, or educational purposes
Probate
the legal system of administering and executing distribution of personal property and real estate after a death; proving or verifying the legitimacy of a will (where such exists) or carrying out estate law
Right to privacy
affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court as an individual’s right to be left alone
Substitute or surrogate decision maker
an individual authorized to act by a durable power of attorney in health care matters
Transplantable human organs
kidneys, hearts, livers, pancreas, intestines, and lungs in whole or part
Transplantable human tissues
skin, heart valves, leg veins, eye and eye components, bone, tendons, and ligaments
Trusts
legal arrangements to preserve one’s assets from probate by transferring their ownership to a trustee with instructions for their management and distribution to a beneficiary; “living trusts” serve the interests of those who establish them; “testamentary trusts” control distribution of assets at death
UAGA
the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, enacted by Congress in 1968 to establish criteria under which human organs can be donated; amended in 1987
UNOS
the United Network for Organ Sharing, a private corporation that administers the OPTN under contract to the Division of Transplantation in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Will
a formal statement of one’s wishes concerning the distribution of one’s property after death
Xenotransplantation
transplantation across species, that is, from animals to humans, as in the transplantation of heart values obtained from pigs
Altruistic suicide
suicide undertaken on behalf of one’s social group; a sociological category in which suicide arises from an overinvolvement or overintegration of an individual into his or her society
Anomic suicide
suicide undertaken when society is unable or unwilling to help its members in regulating their desires; a sociological category in which suicide arises from social underregulation or sudden withdrawal of social control
Cessation
the idea of resolving the unbearable pain of disturbance and isolation by simply ending it or being out of it
Completed suicide
professionals prefer this language to “committed suicide”
Constriction
a narrowing of the range of perceptions, opinions, and options that occur to a suicidal person’s mind; seen in tunnel vision and either/or thinking
Egoistic suicide
suicide undertaken when society fails to help individuals find meaning in their lives so that they (often suddenly) find themselves alone or isolated; a sociological category in which suicide arises from underinvolvement or underintegration of an individual from his or her society
Either/or thinking
constricted thought processes in which one can only envision continuing in a painful condition or escaping that condition by ending one’s life
Fatalistic suicide
suicide undertaken when an individual seeks to escape from an overcontrolling social context; a sociological category in which suicide arises from excessive regulation of individuals by society
Haplessness
describes persistently ill-fated or unlucky behavior
Helplessness
inability to assist or take care of oneself
Hopelessness
a condition in which one has no positive expectations for his or her
Inimicality
an unsettled life pattern in which one acts against one’s own best interests
Life-threatening behavior
actions that put one’s life at risk, whether or not they actually end it; a more general phrase than “suicidal behavior”
Perturbation
heightened psychological disturbance in a person’s life
Rational suicide
the ending of one’s life as a result of motives that are thought to be lucid, rational, and morally appropriate
Suicide
the deliberate or intentional ending of one’s own life; sometimes called intentional self-harm
Suicide intervention
efforts made to reduce the likelihood of completed suicides or at least to minimize suicidal behavior; “intervention” is preferred to “prevention” since the latter is not always possible
Suicidology and suicidologists
the scientific study of suicide and suicidal behavior; individuals who study suicidal behavior, intervene to minimize such behavior, or treat its aftereffects
Survivors of suicide
in this context, a phrase referring to individuals who experience the aftereffects of the suicide of another; not ordinarily used to refer to individuals who attempt to end their lives but do not succeed in their attempts
Tunnel vision
a condition of constricted thinking in which one can only envision few or limited options; a narrowing of one’s range of perceptions, opinions, and options
Active euthanasia
taking direct action to end suffering by ending the life of a suffering person
Aid in dying
actions in which an individual who has already been determined to be dying and to have only a limited time to live obtains from a physician a prescription for lethal medications and uses those medications to end his or her life
Assisted suicide
actions in which one person intentionally acts to end his or her life and secures assistance from another individual who intends to help the first person achieve that result
The Dutch Termination of Life on Request and Assisted Suicide (Review Procedures) Act
legislation that exempts from criminal liability physicians who terminate life on request or assist in a patient’s suicide in accordance with the due care and notification criteria set forth in the law
Euthanasia
literally, “a good death”; now mainly refers to situations in which one individual contributes to the death of another person in order to end the suffering of that second person
Extraordinary means of treatment
interventions to sustain life that do not have predictable and well-recognized outcomes; offer unusual risks, suffering, or burdens for the person being treated or for others; and may not be effective
Nonvoluntary euthanasia
euthanasia performed when the wishes of the person who dies are unknown
Ordinary means of treatment
interventions to support life that have predictable and well-recognized outcomes; offer no unusual risk, suffering, or burden for the person being treated or for others; and are effective
Oregon “Death with Dignity Act”
legislation specifying the conditions under which a terminally ill, adult resident of Oregon is permitted to request that a physician provide a prescription for lethal medication that the individual can use to end his or her life
Passive euthanasia
allowing someone to die by either not doing (withholding) or omitting (withdrawing) some action that is necessary to sustain life
Physician-assisted suicide
a form of assisted suicide in which it is a physician who intentionally provides the assistance that a person needs and uses to end his or her life
Voluntary euthanasia
euthanasia performed at the request of the person who dies
Atman
the unborn, undying self (in Hindu writings)
Cryonics
a practice in which one’s body (or sometimes just the head) is frozen at the time of death and held in that state until a time comes when, it is hoped, it could be thawed and the cause of death cured by future generations
Hades
the kingdom of the dead in Homer’s Odyssey; the place where one goes after death according to some ancient Greek thought; a dreary place
Heaven and hell
places of reward or punishment, respectively, after death, according to some Western religions
Immortality of the soul
a view originating in ancient Greek thought according to which an essential element in living beings cannot die
Living-dead
a view found in some African thought according to which the human community consists of both the living and the living-dead or those individuals who are no longer living here, but are living in some different part of the world
Near-death experiences (NDEs)
phenomena reported by individuals who have experiences they and/or others claim demonstrate the existence of an afterlife
Nepesh
a Hebrew word for “soul,” implying an inextricable involvement with a body, such that when the body dies, the nepesh also ceases to exist
Nirvana
a goal in Buddhism; a serene and peaceful state, beyond desire and suffering (which lead to rebirth)
Reincarnation
literally, to be reborn or reinserted in a body; an ancient concept found both in Greek thought and Hindu writings; allied notions include transmigration of souls and metempsychosis, which imply movement of souls from body to body
Resurrection of the body
“raising up” by God of a human being as a “living body”
Symbolic immortality
Lifton’s term for efforts made to transcend or circumvent death through biological, social, natural, or theological accounts of continuity
Alzheimer’s discase (AD)
a chronic and progressive brain disorder primarily affecting memory, thinking, behavior, and the ability to perform everyday activities; it leads inexorably to death
Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (ADRD)
a group of dementing diseases similar to and sometimes confused with Alzheimer’s disease
Beta-amyloid plaques
an extracellular protein buildup found in the brains of persons with AD
Dementia
an incurable condition produced by several neurodegenerative diseases involving irreversible cognitive impairment and eventual death
Frontotemporal dementia
a clinical syndrome comprising multiple disorders characterized by loss of tissue in the frontal and temporal lobes of the cortex
Lewy Body dementia
a disease in which deposits of the protein alpha-synuclein form inside neurons
Mixed dementia
the co-morbid presence of both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia
Tangles
twisted strands of the protein tau in the brains of persons with AD
Tau
the major component of neurofibrillary tangles associated with neuronal degeneration
Vascular dementia (multi-infarct dementia or vascular cognitive impairment)
a dementia caused by decreased blood flow to the brain due to a stroke or a series of “mini strokes” (infarcts)
