Cultural beliefs and Death rituals Flashcards
Tudor-Hart’s inverse care law
Those with the greatest need and the greatest propensity to benefit from care are the least likely to receive it.
Migrant health
Most migrants are healthy when they arrive in the EU, but they can be affected by conditions and factors before their travel and during their journey eg. physical exhaustion, extreme distress, dehydration or cold, combined with other issues such as non adequate living conditions or unhealthy lifestyles.
Aspects of culture
- religion
- language
- art
- diet
- music
- family
- shared history
Modes of communication
- language
- symbols
- signifiers and directions
- interpreters
- multi-lingual information
- technology and web-based resources
Culture
- The customs, traditions and ways to create meaning of a particular group.
- Has to be learned/taught, often through unspoken means or by following a role model.
- Overlaps with ethnicicty, nationality and religion.
- Flexible ie. subculture, counter-culture.
Medicalisation of death
- takes place in hospital
- body is prepared by professionals
- medical intervention interrupts ‘natural’ death
- negotiation between medical professionals and family
- expression of dying person’s wishes ie. DNR
Modern concept of palliative care
- built on openness and acceptance of being at the end of life
- importance of autonomy of the dying person
- main aim is improving quality of life
- death is at home or a hospice
Model of cultural competence
Awareness (of one’s own background)
Skill (integrating knowlege in clinical practice)
Knowledge (about culturally diverse groups)
Encounters (engaging in and reflecting on transcultural interactions)
Desire (motivation and wanting to engage)
Importance of funerals
- symbolic of beliefs
- important role for the family
- shaped by tradition
- different rites, even where religion is shared
- can provide comfort
Attendance of funerals
- a group/community coming together
- roles/expectations of those involved
- sometimes restricted ie. men only
- different conventions between and within societies
Death rituals
- symbolic actions performed at or after death
- common/recognisable to a society or group
- expressing the group/society’s values
- can be linked to religion/belief
- enabling the dead to journey on to the afterlife
- ensuring the dead will be remembered
Functions of the death ritual
- the living say goodbye, and move on with their lives
- the living feel they have been able to respect the deceased person
- alleviates feelings of guilt for survivors
- may help acceptance by making the death visible
