The "moment of death"

Omega
Christine Valentine

Abstract

The "moment of death," once a dominant concept in preparing for a "good death", has been eclipsed by a focus on the wider concept of the "dying trajectory". However, findings from interviews with 25 bereaved individuals suggest that dying loved ones' final moments may still be experienced as highly significant in their own right. In some accounts the dying individual's final moments did not feature or made little impression, either because the survivor was not present, or there was no obviously definable moment, or because other, usually medical factors, such as whether to resuscitate the person, took precedence. However, in six cases such moments were constructed as profound, special, and memorable occasions. These constructions are explored in relation to achieving a good death, the dying trajectory as a whole, and making sense of the bereavement experience. Their implications for sociological theories of identity and embodiment are also considered.

References

Dec 1, 1987·Journal of Medical Education·T J Ruane, H Brody
Jan 1, 1981·Vision Research·A ArditiJ A Movshon
Jan 1, 1981·Journal of Family History·P G Spagnoli
May 1, 1965·The American Journal of Psychiatry·F B GLASER

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Citations

Feb 1, 2011·Death Studies·Wallace Chi Ho Chan, Cecilia L W Chan
Sep 2, 2010·The Nursing Clinics of North America·Debra L Wiegand, Laura Petri
Sep 29, 2009·Journal of Pain and Symptom Management·Lois DowneyRuth A Engelberg
Dec 25, 2013·European Journal of Oncology Nursing : the Official Journal of European Oncology Nursing Society·Hans HaddersVigdis Fougner
Mar 3, 2018·Death Studies·Eunicia JonesSpencer Dutson
Sep 28, 2010·Qualitative Health Research·Hans Hadders

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