L8: Loss, Death, and Grief: Including Spirituality & Sleep Flashcards
(127 cards)
what do patients and families need most from nurses at the end of life(3)?
1) compassion
2) attentiveness
3) patient-centered care
what are the types of loss(5)?
1) loss of possessions or objects
2) loss of known environment
3) loss of significant other
4) loss of an aspect of self
5) loss of life
what are the categories of loss(5)?
- Actual losses
- Necessary losses
3. Maturational losses
4. Situational losses - Perceived losses
what is a necessary loss?
A loss that is necessary for change; most necessary losses are replaced by something different or better
what is a maturational loss?
A form of Necessary Loss which includes all normally expected changes across the lifespan.
Maturational losses associated with normal life transitions help people develop coping skills to use when they experience unplanned, unwanted, or unexpected loss.
what is situational loss?
Sudden, unpredictable losses brought on by external events
what is an actual loss?
occurs when a person can no longer feel, hear, see, or know a person or object
what is a perceived loss?
a uniquely defined form of loss by the person experiencing the loss that is less obvious to other people.
what influences depth and duration of grief?
the type of loss and a persons perception of it
what are some factors that influence the way a person approaches death(6)?
1) culture
2) spirituality
3) personal beliefs
4) values
5) previous experiences with death
6) degree of social support
what are the different types of grief?
1) normal (uncomplicated) universal reaction
2) anticipatory
3) disenfranchised (ambiguous)
4) complicated (chronic, exaggerated, delayed, masked)
Normal grief
universal reaction characterized by complex, emotional, cognitive, social, physical, behavioral, and spiritual responses to loss and death.
Anticipatory grief
Before the actual loss or death occurs. Especially in situations of prolonged or predicted loss like caring for patients diagnosed with dementia or ALS.
Disenfranchised grief
When someone’s relationship to the deceased was not socially accepted and cannot be openly shared or seems insignificant to others
Ambiguous loss
A type of disenfranchised grief. Occurs when the lost person is physically present but is not psychologically available.
(e.g. severe dementia or brain injury)
type of disenfranchised grief
Complicated grief
when someone has a prolonged or significantly difficult time moving forward after a loss
what are some characteristics of complicated grief (6)?
1) chronic or disruptive yearning for the deceased
2) trouble accepting the death
3) trouble trusting others
4) excessive bitterness
5) emotional numbness
6) anxiety of the future
Chronic grief
type of complicated grief
a normal grief response that lasts longer than normal
Exaggerated grief
type of complicated grief
when a grief response involves destructive or maladaptive behavior, obsessions, or psychiatric disorders.
Suicide is a risk for these individuals.
Delayed grief
type of complicated grief
grief response is unusually delayed or postponed because the loss is so overwhelming that the person must avoid the full realization of the loss.
Masked grief
type of complicated grief
when a grieving person behaves in a way that interferes with normal functioning but is unaware that the disruptive behavior is the result of the loss and ineffective grief resolution
what is bereavement?
a period of both grief and mourning
You are caring for a patient who is depressed because the only child has gone away to college. The nurse will assess this type of depression as:
A. actual loss.
B. perceived loss.
C. situational loss.
D. maturational loss.
Answer: D
Rationale: When life keeps moving, such as kids growing up and moving away, it is considered maturational loss.
what do more recent grief theories take into consideration(3)?
1) humans construact their own meanings when confronted with loss and death
2) everyone’s grief is different
3) grief is not linear, it is cyclic and moved forward and backward (good days and bad days)