Program Lesson 11 Dying, Death, and Bereavement


The nature of death has dramatically changed. In 1900, the average age of death was 47; by 1990 it was 75	Support of close friends made it possible for Jane Potter (left) to attend a wedding shortly after her husband's death	Hospice represents a new and positive approach to helping the dying person and the family	It took great courage for Sylvia Davis, the last of 10 siblings, to give her brother permission to die

Summary of the Video and Text

Video

The video consists of four segments. In the first, experts and medical students discuss societal and personal views of death. We learn how early experiences with death shape our perceptions of it. Grief and bereavement reactions are further discussed in the second segment, as older adults tell how they have faced the death of loved ones in their lives. The third segment introduces services designed to help older adults cope with dying, death, and bereavement. These include support groups, rituals (like funerals and memorial services), and hospice. The fourth segment presents information on tools people can use to plan for their own deaths, such as the living will and the durable power of attorney for health care decisions. Also discussed are moral and ethical concerns posed by society’s ability to prolong life including euthanasia, rationing medical care to older adults, and suicide.

Video Quote: Herman Feifel, Ph.D., comments on the 20th Century view of death

Herman Feifel: "Death was a point in time on the road to eternity. So death was a door. Today, except nominally, we tend to be much more of a secular society. We don't buy the business that there's a life after death. But please don't misunderstand me. Obviously, there are many people who do. But by and large, there are many people who believe that when they die, this is it. That we, you know, we trespass this world, you know, one-shot deal and that's it. And so in a certain sense now, we don't command that transcendence for death. Death has become a wall. And as such, death becomes a much more difficult thing to deal with. And so I would say that we've shifted from a death-accepting to a death-avoiding society."

Text

Chapter 13, "Death, Dying, Bereavement, and Widowhood," covers the dying process, attitudes toward death, the right to die, services that assist terminally ill adults, bereavement, and widowhood.

Video Quote: Marian Cowan describes her feelings of grief after the death of her husband

Marian Cowan: "I don't really recall literally knowing what was going on for nearly two months or something. I began to think something had happened to me. Because I just, I just continued to just float. I know well into, after two months. And I remember saying to one of my sisters in Indianapolis that I think something must be wrong with me because I still am doing the same kind of things I was doing the week after his death. And I don't think it was just deliberate denial. But he never really seemed that far away. And he, yet does not really seem that far away. He's so much a part of my life that he just doesn't...he, it's just as if he's here."

Video Quote: Merdith Minkler, Dr.P.H., notes the importance of hospice services as an alternative to death in the standard hospital setting

Meredith Minkler: "Hospices are a very important alternative to a high-tech death in a hospital. These are places that either are free-standing or they're part of hospitals. Or they're agencies that bring services to you in your home. Hospices are committed to the philosophy of a natural death. So that they will give people drugs as needed to ease their pain, but they will not hook them up to machines, intubate them, do other sorts of invasive procedures, to keep them alive beyond the natural period of time."

Features of the Study and Faculty Guides

Study Guide (MySocKit)

Key points of the lesson, integrating video and text, are elucidated under the learning objective topics. Self-study questions help students prepare for exams. Descriptions of discussion and essay/research topics provide instructions for a variety of activities that may be assigned by the instructor. The Study Guide also provides a glossary of key terms and concepts covered in the telecourse and a listing of participants in the video.

Faculty Guide

The descriptions of discussion and essay/research topics presented in the Study Guide are reprinted in the Faculty Guide with tips for assigning the activities effectively. In addition, in-class activity suggestions and exam questions/answers are included. The Guide offers options appropriate for faculty using the telecourse in different settings, e.g., in-class, distance learning, interactive television, or a combination of formats. A Video Index helps instructors find segments of the video by time code and topic.