Hospice and Attitudes Toward Death Essay

Hospice and Attitudes Towards Death

Attitudes towards dying, death, and bereavement are very dependent upon culture. Some cultures embrace death as a natural part of the life cycle and do not attach fear to death. Other cultures are very fearful of the topic of death and treat it like a taboo. "In many preliterate societies, the dead are imbued with special powers and considered potentially harmful to the living. Many customs and funereal rituals surrounding death represent efforts to ensure the well-being of the community" (Quadagno, 2008). However, individual attitudes towards death and dying can vary within a community. Modern society certainly reflects a wide range of feelings towards death and dying. Some people still avoid the topic of death as a taboo, while others are much more comfortable with the idea.

One of the most interesting movements in modern medicine has been the hospice movement. After years of medicine seeking to intervene and prevent death, the medical community has begun to realize that death denial and avoidance may not always be the best thing for the patient.This attitude is reflected in many ways. Perhaps the most notorious manner is the doctors who engage in euthanasia or assisted suicide of patients, in order to alleviate pain and suffering. Many people find that practice repugnant, because it interferes with the natural cycle of life. On the other hand, some people find prolonging life at the expense of quality of life to be equally repugnant. Fortunately, "the two extremes of dying in pain or seeking relief by means of euthanasia do not exhaust the possibilities for the stricken patient. The goal of the hospice movement is to allow the terminally ill to die easily and at peace, without pain, in their own homes, special units of hospitals, of hospice facilities" (Quadagno, 2008).

Hospice programs are interesting health care programs in that they are aimed at dying, not about preserving life. Hospice programs are specifically available for terminally-ill patients. The goal of the programs is to ease the transition between life and death. However, they are not the type of programs that refuse medical care for….....