Death rituals and Funerals Flashcards
how has death been medicalised?
People die in hospitals rather than at home.
Medical intervention may interrupt natural death and may be distressing for family e.g. you are not sure where a person is in their course of death - will medicine help them
The dying person may have expressed their wishes to stop medical intervention e.g. do not resuscitate
what are the concepts of palliative care?
Built on openness and acceptance of being at the end of life (no lying)
Autonomy of the dying person is very important - them deciding what they want to happen
Main aim is improving the quality of life (sometimes) over quantity
Death can be in a hospice or at home rather than a medical site (roll back in medicalisation of death)
what are the inequalities present in palliative care?
People from BaME communities access palliative care services less, and are less likely to undertake formal advance care planning—why?
- Different illness patterns - less cancer among BaME individuals which is the main thing that palliative care is built around
- Lack of awareness of services
- Is ‘planning for death’ a meaningful concept in BaME cultures
what are the issues for providers and patients (BaME) to Palliative care?
Knowledge of what services are available e.g. provide information in different language
Lack of referrals by GPs - Hospices are seen as being connected to Christianity (not true no adays)
Hospices often staffed by White British Christian people (but this need not put patients off as the staff has been trained)
S Asian families are more likely to “look after their own” so don’t need palliative care
Need for interpreters, communication 🡪 worried these won’t be provided
Is cultural competence training the answer? (get more BAME in palliative care)
Many definitions and models of cultural competence/cultural sensitivity
Involve training of a range of knowledge, skills and attitudes in intercultural encounters in healthcare
Critiques:
- Hard to evaluate—are needs being met?
- Focuses on the individual (staff – entire role placed on them) while attitudes are embedded in workplaces etc.
- Health providers may feel overwhelmed – are what they are doing/saying culturally correct?
- Training may be too general and not helpful - ‘fact file’ approach is not enough (simplistic depictions of a culture)
- Culture may be foregrounded and individual preferences lost - Openness/ questioning is recommended!
what is the ASKED model of cultural competence?
good model to deal with cultural competence
Have I ASKED the right question?
We should be aware how our own background shapes how we interact with other people
We should have sufficient knowledge about culturally diverse groups (not too simplistic)
It’s a Skill to integrate this knowledge in clinical practice e.g. in transcultural interactions
Desire – want to engage and learn with individuals from different cultures
This is a process… which requires experience
what are the general functions of the ritual in general?
The living say goodbye, and progress with their lives
Alleviates feelings of guilt for survivors
The living feel they have been able to respect the deceased person
This includes respectfully dealing with the actual body
May help acceptance by making the death visible – help bereaved people
Why are funerals important?
Funerals are shaped by tradition and religion – so ceremonies based on the same religion may be different.
Symbolic of the patients beliefs (necessity to have a funeral in some religions)
Some funerals are social events (Muslims) for comforting and remembrance, some are not.
Traditions can be comforting—e.g. churchyard burial for people who were not firm believers
Death creates a painful rift in society which a funeral repairs - an event where society bids farewell to one of its members and then reasserts continuity without him
In some societies the dead person is seen as threatening until the death is marked by a ceremony.
who attends a funeral?
A group/neighbourhood coming together
Roles/expectations for the people involved e.g. bearing coffin and throwing earth
Some traditions restrictive e.g. men only
Private vs public
Show grief or not show grief
what are death rituals?
Symbolic actions performed at or after death
Expressing the group’s/ society’s values
Can be linked to religion/ belief – e.g. Muslims wash the body.
For Hindu being close to the ground when on the brink on death is important.
Ensuring the dead will be remembered e.g. gravestone
Enabling the dead to journey on to the afterlife (if this is expected…) e.g. Egyptians
what is the view of death from anthropology?
Rules around preparing and handling the body e.g. who is involved
Fear of the dead body and returning of the spirit
Providing a memorial for the person to be remembered
is there a new kind of death ritual?
Social media increasingly important after a person dies
Can a social media account be kept as a memorial and who has access to it? (e.g. get birthday notifications of a dead person)
Condolences— Are there new conventions on how to express grief e.g. comment under a picture
how does death rituals relate to culture and religion?
Death rituals are often religious… even for people who are not observing a religion in their everyday life (“matching (wedding), hatching (christening) and despatching (death)…”)
Now other options are available e.g. eco funeral woodland burial
New dilemmas e.g. whether to wear black? Or bright colours to celebrate life
But also, a larger variety in religions in the UK with different funeral rituals
Health providers will need to engage with these!
what is the death ritual for muslims?
Buried and never cremated
Funeral takes place as soon as possible
Body is washed Quran is read and the family prays
Body taken to the mosque or graveside for prayers before burial
Muslims would not be usually be buried in coffin but in Britain it is a requirement as is the marking of the grave.
Dedicated locations e.g. Muslim section at Handsworth Cemetery (UK adapting to be accommodating)
what is the death ritual for Sikhs?
Cremation should take place as soon as possible; families often appreciate some help in convincing the undertaker.
Symbolic clothing/ items to accompany the body (e.g. Sikh steel bangles
Most often the coffin goes first to the family home for people to pay their last respects.
It then either goes to gurdwara or the crematorium for the service to be held.
It is the duty of the heir to the dead person to light the funeral pyre.
The nearest this can be achieved in Britain is the pushing of the button at the crematorium.
The ashes are collected and scattered.
