module 13 Flashcards
dying and death
- Death is a universal expereince but societal responses vary by culture
- In the past the majority of people died at home but now this has shifted to nursing homes and hospitals
good death
○ Natural death, quick, painless
○ At home
○ Wtith loved ones
○ Timely, prepared
○ Meaningful, expected, accepted
bad death
○ Slow disease trajectory, painful dignity
○ In hospital
○ Alone
○ Untimely, unprepared
○ Meaningless, senseless
historical and cultural perspectives
○ Evidence of funeral rituals emergend from as far back as the neanderthals
○ In some preliterate societies the dead were considered to have special powers and to be harmful to the living, in others the dead were seen as members of the community and potential allies
○ Widow sacrifce was common practice in several cultrues where a mans wife was buried or burned alive along with the body of her dead husband
○ In many easter cultures life and death are seen as part of an everchanging cycle. In hinduism it is beleved that transmigration of sould occurs. In budheism death is seen as an inescapable fact of life and people who have led a good life will be rewarded in their next life
over the life course perspective
○ Early childhood; death is an abtract concept
○ Mid childhood: begin to understand concept of death
○ Young adulthood: death viewed as distant possibility
○ Middle age: begin to take stock of life
○ Old age: talk about death more and death becomes less freigthening
common concerns for people near end of life
○ Avoiding drawn out death
○ Having releif from pain
○ Having contrl of treatment options
○ Leaving loved ones
Fear of becoming a burden on others
stage theory of dying
○ The stage theory of dying is a theory that was proposed by elizabeth kubler ross and brought increased attention to death and dying as an area of research and academic study
1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Barigaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance
medical care and death
- Physicains have been trained to prolong life at all costs, but increasingly this approach is being challenged when it comes to dying patients
living wills
- A document that allow indidivuals to specify their desires for treatment should they become terminally ill
- In bc there are no living wills, inseatd older adults can create advance directives and appointment of a proxy
- Allow individuals to specify their desires for treatment should they become terminally ill
advance directives
- Instructions provided in advance by the patient on potential future care
appointment of a proxy
- Person who is given power of atterny and can make decsions on the patients behlaf
hospice palliative care
- Allows people to die at peace without pain
- Provides death with dignity and is seen as an alternative to the medical model
- Providing pain management
- Services provided through hospice care include: medication and treatment, rehabiliation, and different forms of social support
- Through a variety of approaches including
○ Home based provided by professionals and volunteers
○ Home based care provided by healthcare againcies
○ Special units in hopsitals
○ Hopsices based in nursing homes
○ Freestanding hospices
euthanasia
- Act of killing or allowing a terminally ill person to die in a painless and merciful way, has long been contorvserial topic for both phyicians and patients
- Passive: involves witholding or withdrawling treatment for the terminally ill
- Active: occurs when a person helps an ill or disabled person end their life
- Current legisaltion in canada allows for medical assistance in dying for people who meet the following criteria
○ Have a serious and incurable illness, disease or disability
○ Are in an advanced state of irreversible decline in capability
○ Endure physical and psycological suffering that is intolerbale to them and
○ Their natural death has become reasonably forseeable
suicide
- In most developed countries sucicide increases with age, particulary among men
- Older people who commut suicde tend to use more lethal means and are less likely to give warning signs or respond well to help
- Reasons include: depression, loss of loved ones, onsetdying a of progressive illness, financial hardship, social isolation, and feelings of bordeum and uselessness
- Elderly men have higher rates of suicide than youth
bereavement and mourning
- State of having recently experienced death of a loved one
- Mourining refers to the public expression of greif typically following social and cultural rules
widowhood
- Used to refer to a women who has lost a spouse while widower refers to a man who has lost a spouse
- For several months after the loss of a spouse older adults tend to feel depressed, stressed, and lonely through these feelings eventually wane
- Followjg factors may lead to increased trouble adjusting to widowhood
High level od dependance on spouse, having had an emotionally close relationship with spouse, spouse had a difficult death or death was unexpected
legal matters of death
- A will is a document that describe how proprty and possessions are to be distributed after death
- Executor is the person who represents ones interests after death and is responsible for paying outstanding debts and carrying out instrucctions in the will
bereavement of children
- Death of a parent is a natural part of life ourse and most people will lose one parent by the end of their 50s
- Severs long term suportive relationship
- Suggests that children are
