Types of Death
 Basic Statistics
 Social Aspects of Death
 Do Not Resuscitate
 Euthanasia

DEATH AND THE DYING PROCESS
TYPES OF DEATH
Thanatologists: People who study death and dying.
Two types of death:
 Functional Death:


Absence of a heart-beat and breathing.
Brain Death:


Diagnosis of death based on the cessation of all signs of brain
activity.
Measured by electrical brain waves.
BASIC STATISTICS
America has a very high infant mortality rate:
 Ranks behind 35 other countries
 Why is this?
 Accurate statistics on our part.
 More drug use than almost any other country.
In early adulthood the leading cause of death is accidents.
 Followed by Suicide, Homicide, AIDS, and Cancer
BASIC STATISTICS
SOCIAL ASPECTS OF DEATH
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross:
 Based on her observations,
she suggested that people
pass through five basic
steps as they move toward
death.
SOCIAL ASPECTS OF DEATH
1. Denial: People resist the idea that they are going to die.
 A patient can flatly reject the diagnosis or request a second opinion.
 Sometimes memories of weeks in the hospital
are forgotten.
2. Anger:
 They can be angry at people who are in good health, their spouses and
other family, those who are caring for them, and their children.
 Questions Asked: Why are the bad people not dying and why am I? This
can lead to the next stage.
SOCIAL ASPECTS OF DEATH
3. Bargaining: Dying people try to negotiate their way out of death.
 “If you are good, you will be rewarded”
 The reward for being “good” is to “live”
4. Depression: They become overwhelmed with a sense of loss.
 Reactive depression: Based on events that have already occurred.
 Loss of dignity that may accompany medical procedures
 End of a job
 Knowledge that one will never return from the hospital.
 Preparatory depression: Sadness over future losses.
 Death will bring an end to their relationships.
SOCIAL ASPECTS OF DEATH
5. Acceptance: Final stage of dying is acceptance.
 Once acceptance has arrived they are fully aware that death is
impending.
 They will have virtually no feelings,
positive or negative, about the present or future.





Denial and isolation – “It can’t be!”
Anger – “Why me?”
Bargaining – “Just let me do this first!”
Depression – withdrawal, crying,
and grieving
Acceptance – a sense of peace comes
DO NOT RESUSCITATE
No-Code Order:

Written order from a doctor that resuscitation should not be attempted if a person suffers
cardiac or respiratory arrest.

DNR is more commonly done when a person who has an inevitably fatal illness wishes to have
a more natural death without painful or invasive medical procedures.

DNR order came into being in the U.S. in the 1960s when defibrillation allowed the reversal of
cardiac arrest.
EUTHANASIA
Defined: The practice of assisting people who are terminally ill to die more quickly.
There are three types of euthanasia:
1. Passive Euthanasia

Withholding common treatments (Antibiotics, drugs, or surgery) or giving a medication
(Morphine) to relieve pain, knowing that it may also result in death.

Passive euthanasia is currently the most accepted form as it is currently common practice in
most hospitals.
2. Non-aggressive Euthanasia: The practice of withdrawing life support

Quite controversial
3. Aggressive Euthanasia: Using lethal substances or force to kill

Extremely controversial
Physician-Assisted Suicide: Term for aggressive voluntary euthanasia.
Death and Cultural Contexts
U.S. DENIAL AND AVOIDANCE OF DEATH

Funeral industry emphasizes lifelike qualities

Euphemisms — softening language for death

Persistent search for “fountain of youth”

Rejection and isolation of aged

Concept of pleasant and rewarding afterlife

Medical emphasis — prolonging life, not easing suffering
A Developmental Perspective of Death
ATTITUDES TOWARD DEATH AT DIFFERENT
POINTS IN THE LIFE SPAN
Childhood
Infant has no concept of death; perceptions
of death develop in middle/late childhood;
even very young children concerned about
separation and loss
Adolescence
Develop more abstract concepts of death;
common to think they are immune to death
Adulthood
Middle-aged adults fear death more than
young adults or older adults; older adults
think about death more
A Developmental Perspective of Death
SUICIDE IN U.S.
Adolescence

3rd leading cause of
death in ages10-19

19% of high school
students seriously
considered or tried
suicide in last 12 mos
Adulthood and Aging

Suicide rates increase
in adulthood

Older adults use more
lethal ways, are more
successful

Racial and gender
differences exist