The terminally ill ultimately view death as a blessing. A good death seems to be suitable at a certain place and time. Death being a blessing is the one that is free from preventable suffering and distress for the infirm, caregivers, and families. It is typically per families’ and patients’ wishes and is reasonably reliable with the cultural, clinical, and ethical standards. Good dying, referred to as a blessing, has four themes, dying while sleeping, death as pain-free, peaceful death, and dying swiftly (Leming & Dickinson,2020). Death as a blessing is identified from the perspective of the infirm, health care workers, and households. Death as a blessing is a relief from suffering and pain, being conscious of dying, compliant timing of a person’s death, recognition, and autonomy, preparation of the departure, having hope alive, and deciding when to die.
The components of the meaning of dying are time, space, norm, role, value self, and situation. In terms of time, death is the moment at which life ends. Determination of when death has happened is hard, as termination of life functions is always not concurrent throughout organ structure. Such fortitude, thus, needs concluding precise theoretical borders between life and death. For the space meanings, it comprises of isolation and confinement. When the infirm are in their terminal condition, they will ultimately be aware of it. There are factors that social space gives the infirm signs that the situation is terminal (Leming & Dickinson,2020).
In the health facility where the patient is receiving the treatment, there are compartments, and when they are shifted from the intensive care unit or the oncology ward, it becomes clear that all is not well and death and life termination are probable. For norm and role meanings of death, norms are defined as the act or anticipated behavior series felt to be suitable for a certain condition. On the other hand, roles are schedules of deeds or anticipated behavior series postulating what can be done by individuals who occupy specific social positions. Regarding the death-associated behavior of a vanishing infirm, the norm entails the typical anticipation that the vanishing infirm should be courageous and accept that the lifecycle will soon terminate (Jones-Eversley & Rice, 2020). The sick person is not thought to wail or become speaking regarding the spirits on their death. As for the role and meaning of death, it specifies, in a comprehensive fashion, what actions are expected of individuals who take particular social ranks. For example, if a husband and father who is the breadwinner in the household are dying, it is anticipated that he will do what it takes that he can go before death to provide for the monetary basics of his family.
Appropriate death is described as the type of death an individual might select for themselves if given a chance. Appropriate death is classified on age at the moment of death, cause of the vanish, place of death, and means of burial of their bodies.
Alternative Medical
Alternative medical treatment is the unverified or refuted method utilized as an alternative to standard medical cures to prevent, identify, or treat (Eyetsemitan,2021). These treatments are not deeply verified in clinical trials.
Advantages of Alternative Medical
There are numerous advantages of alternative medication. One, the use of alternative medicine helps one to feel better and cope with the treatment. The feeling of how the patient feels is a sector of how they cope. Most complementary therapists are concerned with relaxation and decreasing patient stress. They can assist in calming the patient’s emotions and relieving anxiety. Two, the alternative medication reduces both the signs and side impacts, as the caregivers help control some of the symptoms and the treatment side effects. Additionally, alternative treatment helps a patient to feel more in control. At times, it can feel as though the caregiver makes numerous decisions on their treatment, which can make the patient feel like they do not have much control over what occurs to them.
Disadvantages of Alternative Medical
There is limited scientific research and examination, which makes many individuals doubt the reliability of this treatment medication. The method can work for some people and not for others. Two, it is a longer-term treatment compared to traditional medication that is easy and quick. The alternative treatment takes a long period since it entails natural products and the way they associate with healing the patient’s body, and it comprises healing the sickness at its root (Eyetsemitan,2021). They as well need to have a critical role in the treatment procedure. Another disadvantage of alternative medicine is that it is helpful in emergency circumstances compared to a traditional treatment designed to operate quickly. Therefore, in cases of emergency circumstances, traditional treatment is the best.
Hospitalization
If I were terminally ill, I would not consider entering a hospice. Being terminally ill can result in instant death and leaving cost, family burden, and imminent death. In terms of the cost, the treatment expense is more expensive. Treatment costs and expenses are vital in assessing hospice cost efficiency (Srinivasan, 2019). The cost includes medication costs, diagnostic costs, costs per hospice bed daily, and caregiver time.
Next, I would not consider being admitted to a hospice, which will automatically translate into a family burden. The illness requires hospice, which means that it requires the family and relatives to provide care for me. The emotional clang that my illness will have on the family is part of the burden. Moreover, any caregiving accountabilities and revenue, interpersonal, and private basics are termed the family burden sector.
Again, I would not prefer to be hospitalized because of the imminent death. Since imminent death means I can die anytime, being hospitalized would not change my health. I prefer to die in my home residence instead of a health facility. At this point, I will be exhibiting numerous signs and symptoms that indicate death is approaching.
Utilitarianism and Health Care
Utilitarianism is a moral philosophy that emphasizes the balance of positive and harmful impacts of healthcare experts’ deeds. All acts are measured on the fundamentals of consequences, not based on important moral laws and principles or else concerning character features. The act of utilitarianism handles decisions assumed for each person’s case studying the benefits and negatives enhancing real better consequences. In the United States, utilitarianism is intuitive. The credibility of utilitarianism in social policy situations is distracted by unrealistic, hypothetical reasoning. The theory rejects the whole idea of trading off costs and welfare, which is important in terms of intelligence on social-policy decisions (Leming & Dickinson,2020). The Affordable Care Act, or raising the least salary, addresses the current danger or challenges with the status quo, like individuals not being able to access health insurance coverage because of pre-existing situations or still living under the poverty line notwithstanding working full-time employment.
The utilitarianism policy would not be desirable for the dying patient. That is because the policy does to consider the account of justice. Utilitarianism has the largest weakness of justice. A moral objection to the theory policy is that it requires social workers and health givers to violate the standards of justice. From a perspective, utilitarianism argues that it is similar to wrong to commit murder, and therefore the social workers should develop solid feature dispositions and social norms and beliefs against murder. The utilitarianism policy on health and social fact does not permit a reliable quantified procedure. Additionally, all ethical structures restricting consequentialism are minimized by the capacity to guess the forthcoming impacts of the current actions.
The utilitarianism policy on the health policy in the United States is a common perspective of making ethical decisions, particularly with significances that affect diverse groups of individuals, in the sector as it instructs the social workers to measure the various sums of good and negative that will result because of their action and deeds (Leming & Dickinson,2020). The act of utilitarianism obligates the human being to violate an individual’s rights and commit thoughtful injustices. As the deed utilitarianism enhances the entire utility, it requires the beings to sacrifice the health of a person or a minority so that the majority will benefit.
Euthanasia
Euthanasia also referred to as mercy killing, is the practice or action of painlessly putting a person into death suffering from incurable and painful infections or debilitating physical illness. It also means permitting the individual to avoid withholding cure and treatment or even retreating to artificial life-support measures and actions (Srinivasan, 2019). Since there is no particular provision for mercy killing in most legal structures, it is either suicide or murder. However, physicians lawfully decide not to prolong the life in situations of great suffering, and they can administer medications to release pain if that shortens the infirm life.
Active and Passive Euthanasia
Active euthanasia happens when the medical experts or other individuals intentionally do something that makes the infirm die. In other words, it means killing a sick person through active methods, like the injection of an infirm with a deadly dose of a medicine.
Passive euthanasia happens when the infirm die due to the medical experts either not performing something essential to keep the patient alive or stopping performing something that keeps the patient alive, such as switching off the life-supporting machine or disconnecting a feeding tube. Simply, it means deliberately letting an infirm die by withholding simulated life support.
Quality and Sanctity of Life and Euthanasia
The quality of life is related to the patient’s situation and the expedition for great life goals. The actual quality of being life stems from the aptitude for stewardship, which enjoins a boldness of humble recognition of beneficial or even emancipating suffering. The appropriate response to suffering in terminal cases is not active euthanasia or expert-assisted suicide but appropriate pain handling and individual care (Jones-Eversley & Rice, 2020). In circumstances of deep unconsciousness, only the determination of adverse brain death can permit the withdrawal of both hydration and food. Hitherto, artificial treatment of biological existence is depraved. Death is to be accepted and embraced as a change to the eternal lifecycle.
Euthanasia deteriorates the community’s respect for the sanctity of life. Allowing euthanasia accepts that individual lives, particularly the sick ones, are worth less than the rest. Voluntary euthanasia is the onset of a slippery gradient that results in unintentional mercy killing and the murdering of individuals who are assumed to be unattractive. Mercy killing might not be in an individual’s best interests and wishes, and it affects other individuals’ rights and privileges, not just the sick ones.
Society and Euthanasia
There are mortals and considerations of reaching out for information and deciding to prolong life care preferences. The unsuccessful and costly cure and treatment of end-of-life circumstances are recently increasing the unaffordable expense of healthcare and promoting inequitable healthcare (Spinozzi, 2022). The ethical value of infirm independence and surrogate independence ought to be respected but measured against the utilization of costly treatment and cure in futile situation conditions with the existing rise in healthcare expenses. Therefore, in unsuccessful treatments, patients and families can ethically deliberate the option for comfort treatment. Healthcare limiting end-of-life care in unsuccessful circumstances can only be considered as utmost good for the community but has to be measured alongside the patient independence.
Legal and Ethical Euthanasia
According to the virtue theory of ethics, both the patient relative and the doctor are to determine the meaning of life. The doctors have to weigh the condition and offer the correct cure prognosis so that the patient’s relatives can make an independent choice of cure preferences (Spinozzi, 2022). In most cases, the physicians offer information in situations of ineffective treatment to doge undue danger to the infirm. Therefore, both the healthcare givers and the doctors have to consider the infirm preferences and perspectives.
Dramaturgical Approach and Suicide
Suicide is viewed as a theatrical performance whereby suicidal persons develop a dramatic event through the choices that they create for their suicidal actions. They include which method to use, location, dressing, and communications to leave for one another. The picks made can have psychodynamic importance and can, in some situations, give signs of the impending action.
On the other hand, dramatic performances naturally involve a written script, wardrobe, rehearsals, audience, venue, and the real performance. Though dramatic performance always has a documented script and an audience and happens in an auditorium, the elements are unimportant (Srinivasan, 2019). The dramatic performances create meaning via the picking of arrangements and actions. Most dramatic performances need a director, costume designer, choreographer, sound stylish, lighting stylish, and set stylish though one individual can perform these responsibilities.
Social Factors of Suicide
Rational suicide is the well-thought-out decision to vanish by a mentally competent person and is more provocative in circumstances of aged adults. Considering the international aging trends around the globe, suicidal ratios rise with age, whereby suicide in older adults cannot be abandoned. That is because older adults are more fruitful at committing suicide than younger adults. Depression is the most frequent disorder and the most vital risk factor related to late-life suicide. In the older stage, there is a danger of unrecognized and untreated psychiatric sicknesses (Eyetsemitan,2021). The late-life suicides are related to physical sickness, and the aged individuals who have severe sickness may not have psychiatric comorbidity. The physical sickness probably results in suicidal action if it causes functional incapacities frightening the person’s dignity, independence, quality and autonomy and pleasure with life, usefulness, sense of meaning, purpose in life, perceived individual value, and self-esteem.
Mourning Rituals
The mourning rituals vary from one country and ethnicity as individuals often cope with the values and beliefs of their cultural practices to meet their extraordinary circumstances and needs. Therefore, grief reactions in a culture vary from one person to another (Spinozzi, 2022). That is particularly actual in communities composed of individuals from many cultural origins. In some situations, an individual’s experience of grief can be unique to cultural norms and beliefs. Death and dying beliefs vary across the globe and are affected by numerous factors, including religion, culture, community traditions, and personal beliefs.
Religion funeral practices
The aim of funeral rituals differs between religions and depends on place and time. Archaeologically, the objective of most religious funerals is to help the deceased in their rite of passage to the next phase of life; thus, that practice is still a vital aspect for many (Eyetsemitan,2022).
The various religions have different mourning processes. Some religions undergo grieving rites that last long after the funeral ceremony, whereas others choose to end the performances when the funeral is over. The holy texts in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam believe in an afterlife, so God has promised their believers of these faiths life after death. The Buddhists believe in restoration based on the tradition that the Buddha remembered their past lives when they reached clarification.
Buddhism
Buddhists do not have universally set death and funeral practices prescribed. Their ritual depends on the nation they are living. For the British converts to Buddhism, their funerals take the kind of cremation at the public crematorium. They believe that if vultures are fast to come for the deceased body, it indicates that the individual is spiritually advanced and is likely to have a simple passage.
Christianity
Death and funeral practices vary diversely depending on various denominations across the world. All Christian churches teach that there is life after death, and the deceased is subjected to judgment though little stress is considered to be placed on hell in the latest years.
Islam
Islam believes that the deceased’s body resides in the casket until judgment day. The dying individual recites the Shahada of faith and belief as their end utterance when possible. Muslim belief in a physical resurrection. Their funeral and burial ceremony takes place as fast as possible following the death of a person, if possible in 24 hours. The body of the dead is positioned facing Mecca. In particular, ladies are discouraged from appearing at funerals in Islamic nations since their mourning can be extreme.
Hinduism
They believe that the self of the deceased will be reincarnated or else reach moksha. The funeral norms depend on the Vedas. A large percentage of Hindus are cremated except young kids ad Sanyasi. The Hindus use the public crematorium.
Jewish
They do not have a specific teaching on life after death. They describe God as The God of the living; the moral is awarded a long lifecycle, kids, and prosperity. The Jewish, too, believe in physical resurrection and judgment. They bury the deceased as fast as possible after their death.
Aspects of Funeral Process
The psychological aspect of the funeral process highlight that each culture has some funeral and mourning practice that suggests the ending of life and death and therefore utilize socially sustained behaviors of grief. This practice is tremendously diverse. Like the United States, no state recommends mourning rituals in some nations. Common rituals, in some circumstances, sustain grief perseverance (Smid, 2020). This is the determination on transition, transferring the mourning process away from helping people maintain a link to the dead. It is a recurring and described nature that reduces feelings of stress and impotence, providing scheme and order at times of disorder. The rituals can act as therapeutic elements. The mourning can shift from life to decease, and the social eminence of the dead is shifted from a particular social rank to another.
The sociological aspect of the funeral procedure, like San Francisco-Chinatown’s case, in California located on Stockton Street where there are external marketplaces and individuals and visitors, gets an outlook of groups plying with a car behind with a picture of the dead in the amount on the car. Most of the visitors then use their mobiles to capture pictures and record the captivating event of the Chinese funeral rite. Though, sociological differences can result in conflict. The theological perceptions affect the death practices (Eyetsemitan,2022). For example, some social practice communities are not fascinated by costly burial processes. Aspiration to be unpretentious and untainted offsets wishes to be profligate.
The theological-philosophical aspects of the funeral procedure affect the deceased’s family; the anxiety of the death makes the funeral procedure scary since dialogues are nervy. The relationship between death and the loss of the physical one is actual. The anxiety makes individuals evade death-associated dialogues and thoughts as it is natural that beings’ involvement in metacognition demise thoughts. People become afraid of anxiety related to dying. Escaping preserves fear.
Advance Directives
Advance care scheduling comprises learning about the kinds of decisions that can be made, considering those decisions ahead of the time, and then authorizing other people to know, particularly the person’s relatives and the health caregivers, about the individuals’ preferences. The partialities are stored in an advance directive, an authorized document that acts if the person is undermined and cannot speak for themselves, particularly because of illness, despite the age. The advance directives help other people get to know the type of medical care the patient want. It also permits one to express their values and preferences associated with ending life care. It can also be taken as living documentation to regulate the condition changes as of new figures or a modification in a person’s health.
Durable Power and Living Wills
These are types of advance directives (Smid, 2020). A durable power of attorney for health care indicates that one or more individuals decide for a certain individual if they become mentally debilitated. The deed authorizes an individual chosen to talk with caregiver members group, get second views, sign agreements, and decide if they are capable of performing the act. A healthcare power of attorney guarantees that one can give instructions on the individual well-being and care decisions important to the person. The durable power of attorney can also permit a loved one to give the doctors directions to give into or suppress life-supporting cure and treatment if the sick individual is almost dead or permanently in a coma. Minus the advance directive, the loved ones have a limited time of a few months to decide for the sick person; after there, the court will order the guardian is required.
The living will give instructions to the sick person’s medication team if the sick person has not specified a person to decide for them or if there are no people present to perform their wishes. The living will document the end of life attention if the person concerned is declared almost dead or permanently in a coma. The document gives instructions to the medical group of the sick person on care options, though do not name a person to decide on their behalf.
References
Leming, M. R., & Dickinson, G. E. (2020). Understanding dying, death, and bereavement. Cengage Learning.
Eyetsemitan, F. E. (2021). Death, Dying, and Bereavement Around the World: Theories, Varied Views and Customs. Charles C Thomas Publisher.
Srinivasan, E. G. (2019). Bereavement and the Oregon Death with Dignity Act: How does assisted death impact grief?. Death Studies, 43(10), 647-655.
Smid, G. E. (2020). A framework of meaning attribution following loss. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 11(1), 1776563.
Eyetsemitan, F. E. (2022). Groups: Death, Dying, and Bereavement Experiences. In The Deceased-focused Approach to Grief (pp. 19-37). Springer, Cham.
Spinozzi, P. (2022). Death. In The Palgrave Handbook of Utopian and Dystopian Literatures (pp. 699-710). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Jones-Eversley, S. D., & Rice, J. (2020). A call for epidemiology and thanatology to address the dying, death, and grief pipeline among Blacks in the United States. Death Studies, 1-8.
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