BACKGROUND People bereaved by suicide are at increased risk of suicide attempt and suicide, but explanations for these associations remain theoretical. It is possible that the experience of suicide bereavement modifies personal attitudes towards suicide, but the nature of these changes remains unexplored. There is a need to understand personal attitudes to suicide following suicide bereavement,...

OBJECTIVE Little empirical evidence exists to support either side of the ongoing debate over whether legalising physician aid in dying would undermine patient trust. DESIGN A random national sample of 1117 US adults were asked about their level of agreement with a statement that they would trust their doctor less if "euthanasia were legal [and] doctors were allowed to help patients die". RE...

In the absence of immortality, the human species has over the millennia developed rites and rituals to help in the passing of life to honor the person who is dying or has died or in some way demonstrate their "courage" and perseverance as well as duty even in the face of almost certain death. The centuries-old traditions of the gathering of loved ones, the chanting of prayers, the ritual religi...

The mythological tradition expressed in early Greek hexameter poetry offers an ancient and influential witness to one of the most pervasive assumptions shaping Western cultural constructions of gender, the assumption that there is a link between two inescapable aspects of the human condition: the fact of being born from a woman and the fact of having to die. That body of poetry, which includes ...

This document examines issues related to the work of both formal and informal caregivers as they are involved in caring for dying and/or bereaved individuals. The examination is organized around five central questions: what brings individuals to this work?; what enables them to develop effective caregiving relationships?; what sustains them in their work?; what responsibilities do they have to ...

During the last phase of life, a person may need a variety of information to help her or him cope with dying and death. This article describes the nature of information needed during this stage. A content analysis was done of a book of conversations between a husband who was dying and his wife who is a grief counselor to determine his information needs. Four categories of needs were proposed, i...

The author's reflections on Becky's legacy (see Werth, this issue) revolve around the idea that she can serve as a role model and that Becky's and Jim's experiences provide guidance to others who will inevitably go through the dying process. She also highlights several themes she saw in Werth's article: a cultural revolution around dying, the individuality of the dying experience, the need to e...

Because of their extensive experience with death and dying, hospice volunteers may be more successful at engaging in meaning-making regarding their death-related experiences than their low point life experiences (e.g., job loss). Consequently, their memories of death-related experiences will manifest more meaning-making strategies (e.g., bendfit-finding) than their low point memories. Fifty-two...