Social death in seniors Cover Image

Social death in seniors
Social death in seniors

Author(s): Valeria Horanska, Lubomira Lizakova
Subject(s): Evaluation research, Health and medicine and law, Demography and human biology
Published by: Uniwersytet Opolski
Keywords: social death; social isolation; senior; nursing; palliative care; constitution guaranteed health care;

Summary/Abstract: Dying and death are parts of the life and are unique and personal to everyone. People are afraid of death, often due the fear of the unknown, suffering and loss of the quality of life. Death as such is affecting seniors most, which is, of course; relating to the life cycle. With ageing people are clearly aware of the irreversibility of this cycle and especially in cases, when decreasing of quality of their lives is linked with hospitalization or other forms of social care, which are requiring them to leave their home and social environment. Palliative care is applied in the terminal stages of the disease in present time and the process of dying is an integral part of nursing care. Seniors assess life via the quality of life. This quality of life is judged on its own values, which are in different order for everyone: health, social networking, free time activities or financial situation. Hospitalization of the senior often leads to social isolation, which in many cases ends with social death, and it usually comes much earlier than biological death.

  • Issue Year: 2018
  • Issue No: 8
  • Page Range: 41-51
  • Page Count: 11
  • Language: English