I
asked one of my hospice patients what she thought happened after death. She
responded, “Nothing. Dead people are out of trouble, and we’re still in it.” Death has different meanings
for different people. Some may choose how to respond based on cultural
influences. Of course, basic cultural influences can differ even within a
particular cultural group. Patients and their loved ones may want to share
these beliefs with healthcare caregivers, so they can better understand their
personal death experiences. Their responses to patients can be very helpful to
patients.
This research on the soul and afterlife was done from a cultural perspective with older adult Mexican American
(MA), European American (EA), and African American (AA) participants.
These were the results:
1) Most participants said that the soul lives on after physical death, leaves
the body immediately at death, and eventually reaches heaven.
2) Many participants also said death ends physical suffering.
3) More AAs than MAs or EAs said that they believed that the soul after
physical death exists in the world or interacts with the living.
4)
In every ethnic group, more women than men said they believed that the soul
exists in the world.
Frances Shani Parker, Author
Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing
Homes is available in paperback and e-book editions in America
and other countries at online and offline booksellers.
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