Understanding Dying, Death, and Bereavement

Cover
Contents
About the Authors
Preface
Chapter 1: Studying Dying, Death, and Bereavement
	Current Interest in Death and Dying
	Mortality Statistics
	Approaches to the Study of Dying and Death
	Conclusion
	Summary
	Discussion Questions
	Suggested Readings
Chapter 2: The American Experience of Death
	Defining Death
	The Meaning of Dying and Death
	The American Experience of Death
	Contemporary Attitudes toward Death
	Contemplating One's Own Death
	Conclusion
	Summary
	Discussion Questions
	Suggested Readings
Chapter 3: Growing Up with Death/Growing Old with Death
	Childhood
	Adolescence
	Adulthood
	Conclusion
	Summary
	Discussion Questions
	Suggested Readings
Chapter 4: Perspectives on Death and Life after Death
	The Need to Look beyond Death
	Diversity in Perspectives
	Religious Interpretations of Death
	Temporal Interpretations of Death
	Symbolic Immortality
	Near-Death Experiences
	Conclusion
	Summary
	Discussion Questions
	Suggested Readings
Chapter 5: The Dying Process
	Death Meanings
	Relating to the Dying Person
	Dying with Dignity
	The Dying Child
	Conclusion
	Summary
	Discussion Questions
	Suggested Readings
Chapter 6: Living with Dying
	Understanding and Coping with the Illness
	Treatment Options
	Palliative Care
	The Hospice Movement
	Conclusion
	Summary
	Discussion Questions
	Suggested Readings
Chapter 7: Dying in the American Health Care System
	The Medical Model Approach to Dying
	End-of-Life Education in Medical and Nursing Schools
	Developing a Sensitivity to Social and Psychological Needs
	Developing Communication Skills
	Conclusion
	Summary
	Discussion Questions
	Suggested Readings
Chapter 8: Biomedical Issues and Euthanasia
	Ethical Behavior
	Use of the Body in Medical Research and Training
	Organ Transplantation
	Euthanasia
	Conclusion
	Summary
	Discussion Questions
	Suggested Readings
Chapter 9: Suicide and Other Sudden, Unnatural Traumatic Deaths
	Changing Attitudes toward Suicide
	Social Factors Involved in Suicide
	Opioids and Suicide
	Theoretical Perspectives on Suicide
	Suicide through the Life Cycle
	Rational Suicide
	Other Sudden, Unnatural, Traumatic Deaths
	Conclusion
	Summary
	Discussion Questions
	Suggested Readings
Chapter 10: Diversity in Death Rituals
	Understanding Death Rituals
	Mourning Behaviors
	Customs at Death
	Death Rituals of Major Religious Groups
	Conclusion
	Summary
	Discussion Questions
	Suggested Readings
Chapter 11: The Business of Dying
	The Business of Preparing the Dead
	The American Practice of Funeral Service
	Alternatives to the Funeral
	New Trends in Funeral Service
	The Business of Burying the Dead
	Cemeteries Today
	Conclusion
	Summary
	Discussion Questions
	Suggested Readings
Chapter 12: The Legal Aspects of Dying
	Establishing the Cause of Death
	Advance Directives
	Life Insurance
	Inheritance and Wills
	Conclusion
	Summary
	Discussion Questions
	Suggested Readings
Chapter 13: Coping with Loss
	The Bereavement Role
	The Grieving Process
	Assisting the Bereaved
	Coping with Sudden Death
	Conclusion
	Summary
	Discussion Questions
	Suggested Readings
Chapter 14: Grieving throughout the Life Cycle
	Grieving Parents and the Loss of a Child
	Grieving Children and Adolescents
	Grieving Adults
	Dying, Death, and Bereavement in the 21st Century: A Challenge
	Conclusion
	Summary
	Discussion Questions
	Suggested Readings
References
Glossary
Index