Death, Dying and Bereavement

Question 1

death: clinical death

Answer 1

• period during which vital signs are absent
• resuscitation is still possible
• presumably, near death experiences occur in this state

Question 2

brain death

Answer 2

• absence of vital signs (includes brain activity)
• resuscitation is no longer possible
• person is considered legally dead

Question 3

social death

Answer 3

• point to which family and medical personnel treat the deceased person as a corpse
• family and friends must begin to deal with the loss

Question 4

end of life: hospital care

Answer 4

majority of deaths occur in hospitals (in Canada)

Question 5

end of life: hospice palliative care

Answer 5

• hollistic approach to care for terminally il
• emphasizes individual and family control
• emerged in the 60s

Question 6

death with dignity

Answer 6

• more likely if the dying person is at home
• more contact with family and friends at home

Question 7

hospice care philosophy

Answer 7

• death should be viewed as normal
• patient and family should be encouraged to prepare for the death
• medical care should be primarily palliative care - not cure
• refer to Notebook Shema

Question 8

hospice care philosophy: care is aimed at satisfying _____

Answer 8

• physical needs
• emotional needs
• spiritual needs
• psychological needs

Question 9

hospice care philosophy helps families to ____

Answer 9

• prepare for and manage self-determined life closure and dying process
• cope with loss and grief

Question 10

controversial topics about death: assisted suicide and euthanasia

Answer 10

• refer to concepts from this chapter

Question 11

meaning of death: the 3 aspects

Answer 11

• death is irreversible
• death is inevitable
• death means the cessation of all function
  this varies with beliefs and religion

Question 12

children understanding death: 4 years old (preschool)

Answer 12

• no understanding of death
• often explained to children in other abstract terms
• do not have cognitive and emotional knowledge
• begin to understand the sadness related to it

Question 13

children understanding death: 5 years old

Answer 13

• understand death is sad
• understand adults fear death
• may begin to fear death themselves
• may have many questions about death
• how we talk about death can result in guilt or shame

Question 14

children understanding death: 7 years old

Answer 14

• understanding death is permanent, irreversible, happens to everyone
• may personify death in other forms (angels, ghosts)
• states of change

Question 15

children understanding death: 9 years old

Answer 15

• most seem to understanding permanence and universality of death
• teaching them about the nature of biological life
• knowledge helps understand what causes death and why it is irreversible
• creates better coping

Question 16

having a pet in childhood

Answer 16

strongly correlated with understanding death

Question 17

controversy: How do I tell my child that they are dying?

Answer 17

• many cultural perspectives
• influenced by social environment

Question 18

teens understanding death

Answer 18

• have good understanding of death and grief
• may have unrealistic beliefs about death
• go through unique invulnerability

Question 19

development of psychological approaches to death

Answer 19

increase in various perspectives as people get older

Question 20

unique invulnerability

Answer 20

• belief that bad things only happen to others
• egocentrism in adolescence

Question 21

challenging unique invulnerability

Answer 21

• sudden loss of a loved one shakes younger adults and teens
• especially impacted by death of young public figures
• look for reasons for death

Question 22

adults understanding death

Answer 22

• death changes roles
• brings permanent changes in social systems
• switch: “time since birth” to “time till death”
• middle-aged adults stuck in the past = more anxious and fearful of death

Question 23

death as loss

Answer 23

• most pervasive meaning of death
• younger adults: “I could have done this”
• older adults: “I should have done this”

Question 24

fear of death

Answer 24

stems from existential uncertainties
- annihilation anxiety of fear of non-existence
- fear of pain and loneliness
- fear of failing and complete life work
- finality of death
- ultimate loss
- uncertainty of what follows next

Question 25

finality of death

Answer 25

• no reversal, no remedy, no tmr
• cessation of all hope with respect to this world

Question 26

uncertainty of what follows

Answer 26

uncertainty coupled with finality can create terror

Question 27

annihilation anxiety

Answer 27

• concept of non being = scary
• goes against strong innate conviction that life should not be reduced to non-being

Question 28

ultimate loss

Answer 28

• forced to lose everything we have ever valued
• strong attachments = fear death the most
• loss of control over death affairs
• loss of ability to care for dependents

Question 29

fear of pain and loneliness

Answer 29

afraid of manner of death

Question 30

failing to complete life’s work