The purpose of the present study was to begin to understand/conceptualize how older adults in three different levels of care think about death. Based on the recommendations of facility administrators, participants were chosen and 17 face-to-face semistructured interviews were conducted with older adults residing in independent, assisted and long-term care settings. Utilizing a qualitative method, this study allowed the respondents to tell their own stories about death. Analysis of the data yielded the following themes that were presented: acceptance of death, talk of the afterlife, impact of living situation and talk of suicide. Respondents talked of acceptance and little fear, mixed notions of the afterlife, the importance of place of residence, and the salience of suicide as an issue. Practice implications for clinicians involved in end-of-life care and study limitations are presented.
BlackH. (2007). How the “Not Religious” experience and witness suffering and death: Case studies. Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging, 19(2), 67-85.
2.
CharmazK. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. London: Sage.
3.
Davis-BermanJ. (2004). Lifestories: Themes from the group: Eight years later. Activities, Adaptation & Aging, 29(1), 15-25.
4.
Davis-BermanJ.BermanD.FarisR. (1995). Lifestories: Discussions on death using adventure-based activities. Activities, Adaptation & Aging, 19(3), 55-63.
5.
FeifelH. (1955). Attitudes of mentally ill patients toward death. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 122, 375-380.
6.
FeifelH. (1956). Older persons look at death. Geriatrics, 11, 127-130.
7.
FeifelH.BranscombA. (1973). Who’s afraid of death?Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 81, 38-45.
8.
FortnerB.NeimeyerR. (1999). Death anxiety in older adults: A quantitative review. Death Studies, 23, 387-411.
9.
FryP. (1990). A factor analytic investigation of home bound elderly individuals’ concerns about death and dying, and their coping responses. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 46, 737-748.
10.
GarandL.MitchellA.DietrickA.HijjawiS.PanD. (2006). Suicide in older adults: Nursing assessment of suicide risk. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 27, 355-370.
11.
GilbertK. (2002). Taking a narrative approach to grief research: Finding meaning in stories. Death Studies, 26, 223-239.
12.
GlaserB.StraussA. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Chicago: Aldine.
13.
GolantS. (2004). Do impaired older persons with health care needs occupy U.S. assisted living facilities? An analysis of six national studies. Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 59B, S68-S79.
14.
GwytherL.AltilioT.BlackerS.ChristG.CsikaiE.HooymanN.. (2005). Social work competencies in palliative and end-of-life care. Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care, 1, 87-120.
15.
HeymanJ.GutheilI. (2006). Social work involvement in end of life planning. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 47(3/4), 47-61.
16.
HuffM.WeisenfluhS.MurphyM.BlackP. (2006). End of life care and social work education: What do students need to know?Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 48, 219-231.
17.
KappM. (2010). Legal aspects of elder care. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
18.
KielyD.FlackerJ. (2003). The protective effect of social engagement on 1-year mortality in a long-stay nursing home population. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 56, 472-478.
19.
KramerB.Bern-KlugM. (2004). Social work end-of-life research. In BerzoffJ.SilvermanP. (Eds.), Living with dying: A handbook for end-of-life healthcare practitioners (pp. 792-814). New York: Columbia University Press.
20.
KramerB.ChristG.Bern-KlugM.FrancoeurR. (2005). A national agenda for social work research in palliative and end-of-life care. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 8, 418-431.
21.
Kubler-RossE. ( 1969). On death and dying. New York: Simon & Schuster.
22.
Kubler-RossE. (1972). Questions and answers on death & dying. New York: Simon & Schuster.
23.
MatsonT. (2000). Round trip to deadsville: A year in the funeral underground. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green.
24.
McCoyS.PyszczynskiT.SolomonS.GreenbergJ. (2000). Transcending the self: A terror management perspective on successful aging. In TomerA. (Ed.), Death attitudes and the older adult: Theories, concepts and applications (pp. 37-63). Philadelphia: Brunner-Routledge.
25.
MunnJ.DobbsD.MeierA.WilliamsC.BiolaH.ZimmermanS. (2008). The end-of-life experience in long-term care: Five themes identified from focus groups with residents, family members and staff. The Gerontologist, 48, 485-494.
26.
NakashimaM.CandaE. (2005). Positive dying and resiliency in later life: A qualitative study. Journal of Aging Studies, 19, 109-125.
27.
NeimeyerR.WittkowskiJ.MoserR. (2004). Psychological research on death attitudes: An overview and evaluation. Death Studies, 28, 309-340.
28.
PaolaF.WalkerR.NixonL. (2010). Medical ethics and humanities. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
29.
PleschbergerS. (2007). Dignity and the challenge of dying in nursing homes: The residents’ view. Ageing, 36, 197-202.
30.
PopeC.ZieblandS.MaysN. (2000). Qualitative research in health care: Analyzing qualitative data. British Medical Journal, 320, 114-116.
31.
RichardsonL. (2007). Last writes: A daybook for a dying friend. Walnut creek, CA: Left Coast Press.
32.
StraussA.CorbinJ. (1998). Basics of qualitative research: Techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
33.
ThompsonG.ChochinovH. (2006). Methodological challenges in measuring quality care in the long-term care environment. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 32, 378-391.
34.
TomerA.EliasonG. (2000). Beliefs about self, life and death: Testing aspects of a comprehensive model of death anxiety and death attitudes. In TomerA. (Ed.), Death attitudes and the older adult: Theories, concepts and applications (pp. 137-153). Philadelphia: Brunner-Routledge.
35.
WongP. (2000). Meaning of life and meaning of death in successful aging. In TomerA. (Ed.), Death attitudes and the older adult: Theories, concepts and applications (pp. 23-35). Philadelphia: Brunner-Routledge.
36.
WongP.RekerG.GesserG. (1994). Death attitude profile-revised. In NeimeyerR. (Ed.), Death anxiety handbook (pp. 121-148). New York: Taylor & Francis.
37.
ZimmermannC.RodinG. (2004). The denial of death thesis: Sociological critique and implications for palliative care. Palliative Medicine, 18, 121-128.
