Epilogue (Death & Dying)

Question 1

Terror Management Theory

Answer 1

The idea that people adopt cultural values and moral principles to cope with their fear of death. This system of beliefs protects individuals from anxiety about their morality and bolsters their self-esteem

Question 2

What is considered a ‘good death’?

Answer 2

• at the end of a long life;
• peaceful;
• quick;
• at home;
• with family & friends; and
• without pain, confusion, or discomfort.

Question 3

Stages of Dying/Grief

Answer 3

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

Question 4

Hospice Care

Answer 4

• Hospice: An institution or program in which terminally ill patients receive palliative care to reduce suffering; family and friends of the dying are helped as well. (aims to uphold the patients dignity.
• Palliative Care: Medical treatment designed primarily to provide physical and emotional comfort to the dying patient and guidance to their loved ones.
• Double Effect: When an action has both a positive and negative effect.

Question 5

Euthanasia

Answer 5

• Passive Euthanasia: When a seriously ill person is allowed to die naturally, without active attempts to save their life. (no medical intervention)
• Active Euthanasia: When someone does something that hastens another person’s death, with the intention of ending that person’s suffering.
• Physican-assisted suicide: is a type of active euthanasia in which a doctor provides the means for someone to end their life usually by prescribing lethal drugs. (a doctor provides the euthanasia)

Question 6

Euthanasia Documents & Advance Directives

Answer 6

• DNR (do not resuscitate) order: a written order from a physician that no attempt should be made to revive a patient if they suffer cardiac/respiratory arrest.
• POLST (physical-ordered life-sustaining treatment): This is an order form a doctor regarding end-of-life care. It advises medical staff which treatments should be used and which should not be used. This is similar to a living will but directed to medical staff making it more specific and detailed.
• Advance Directives- Any description of what a person wants to happen as they die and after death.
• Living will: is an advance directive document that indicates medical intervention an individual prefers if they’re unconscious when a decision is to be expressed.
• Health care proxy: an advance directive in which a person is chosen to make medical decisions if a patient is unable to do so, such as in a coma.

Question 7

Types of Grief

Answer 7

• Mourning: The ceremonies and behaviors that a religion/culture prescribes for people to express their grief after a death.
• Grief: The deep sorrow that people feel at the death of another. Grief is personal and unpredictable.
• Complicated Grief: grief that impedes a person’s future life usually because they cling to sorrow or is buffered by contradictory emotions.
• Absent Grief- Grief in which mourners do not grieve, either because others don’t them to express grief or because mourners don’t allow themselves to feel it.
• Disenfranchised Grief: a type of grief in a situation where certain people, although they are bereaved, are prevented from mourning publicly by cultural customs/social restrictions.
• Incomplete Grief: Grief under circumstances that interfere with the grieving process, such as police investigations or an autopsy

Question 8

Continuing Bonds

Answer 8

The ongoing attachment and connection that the living have with the dead. Currently, continuing bonds are considered common and often beneficial.

Question 9

What contributions did Kubler Ross bring to the science/knowledge of death and dying?

Answer 9

The stages of grieving and the informing of the patient (telling the patient they’re dying/giving them control who to tell rather than hiding it from the patient)

Thanatology: The science of death and dying