Biology of Dying.docx

*Sociology* Changing Encounter with Death - In Canada, the male-female life expectancy gap was small in 1920--1922 (1.8 years), it reached a high of 7.3 years in 1975--1977 and narrowed to 4.3 years in 2009--2011. - Factors that bring out changing encounter with death in Canada since...

*Sociology* Changing Encounter with Death - In Canada, the male-female life expectancy gap was small in 1920--1922 (1.8 years), it reached a high of 7.3 years in 1975--1977 and narrowed to 4.3 years in 2009--2011. - Factors that bring out changing encounter with death in Canada since 1900 -- lifestyle issues negative contribution - Leading causes of death in Canada -- circulatory diseases & cancer - Leading causes of death for Canadians aged 15 to 24 -- accidents & suicide - Leading cause of death for Canadians aged 35 to 74 -- cancer - Leading cause of death for Canadians aged 85 and above -- heart diseases - In Canada, there were **three times more suicides** among men than among women and twice as many deaths caused by **liver disease** among men than women. - Canadian women accounted for 7 out of every 10 deaths from **Alzheimer's disease**. - In Canada, the number of people dying in hospital has decline while those of people dying at home & in nursing home have increased. - In Canada, the highest rate of hospitalized death is for congenital disorders - Northwest Territories & Nunavut - **lowest %** of deaths in hospital - Nova Scotia & British Columbia -- highest % of deaths in hospital **Death-Related Practices & the Canadian Death System** - "Death system": "sociophysical network" by which we mediate and express our relationship to morality; exists in order to cope with the **fundamental challenges** that death presents to human existence; varies from small, primitive, & tribal societies to large, modern, and impersonal societies - Characteristics of Canadian death system: social implications of death less disruptive, less prominent, & more contained; "death denial;" **keeps death at a distance from the mainstream of life & glosses over many of its harsh aspects** - Five elements of a death system: people, time, places, objects, symbols - Functions of death system - - - - Accidents - - - - - Homicide - - - - Terrorism - - - - - - - - Genocide: attempt to destroy part or all of a particular ethnic, racial, religious, or national group; ethnic cleansing: forced deportation + population transfer - Death & the media: deaths depicted in news abstract & insubstantial; deaths depicted as entertainment in media highly unrealistic & fantasized Coping with Dying: How Society Can Help - Hospice -- philosophy, not facility - - - - Palliative care vs hospice care - -