The Dying Person: Physical, Psychological, and Social Care

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Care of a Dying Person
The Role of Healthcare Assistants
Five Stages of Grief According to Kubler-Ross
The Cultural and Spiritual Beliefs
Conclusion
Reference List

Introduction

The concept of death refers to the time life ends. However, determining when it occurs is difficult because human functions’ cessation happens across organ systems simultaneously (Kalajtzidis, 2018, p.210). Concerning human life, death is an irreparable process linked to the termination of all body operations and personal existence loss. Dying is an investable part of life, but societies are usually uncomfortable with the subject (Kalajtzidis, 2018, p.214).

Healthcare assistants perform the burdening and multi-faceted tasks linked to the dying people. They engage in medical activities, communicate with families, decide to start and stop treatment and anticipate sorrow after losing the loved one. Bereaved families go through grief stages, including denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The paper discusses the physical, psychological, and social care of a dying person, healthcare assistants’ roles, and five stages of grief.

Care of a Dying Person

Psychological Care

Psychological therapy entails the discussion of thoughts to understand personal behavior and recognize mental illness symptoms. Loneliness at the time of death is a critical source of fear for a dying person. It is essential to listen to them and accept they are not interested in speaking about dying. Farther, people succumbing to death feel they will hurt and make their caregivers sad when they die (Liu, Forbat, and Anderson, 2019). They struggle to live through pain and suffering until they receive permission to pass away. Caregivers should talk to them and remain the source of hope at all circumstances. The loved ones should make efforts to hold and touch the dying person to give them comfort. Psychological care to dying individuals is speaking engagement, listening, reassurance, and comfort.

Physical Care

Dying persons usually experience difficulties in breathing, which makes conversation strenuous. Care providers can help them by lifting the headrests and opening windows to ensure fresh air circulation. People approaching the end of life sit or lie in one position, which puts a lot of pressure on their sensitive skin. It is significant to turn dying patients every three hours to avoid painful bed sores on the hips, heels, lower back, or head (Liu, Forbat and Anderson, 2019). Constipation, nausea, and appetite loss are common occurrences at the end of life. Caretakers should serve people near death small amounts of favorite meals at frequent intervals. The primary physical care to dying people includes making their beds comfortable, turning them to avoid skin sores, and giving them meals.

Social Care

Individuals nearing death find it challenging to talk with loved ones and friends about what they feel. They need support groups and rides to health care families and back to their homes (Liu, Forbat and Anderson, 2019). Social workers help dying persons plan family meetings and organize people interested in seeing them. Other types of social assistance necessary at the end of life are income maintenance advice, housing support, and advocacy consultation.

The Role of Healthcare Assistants

Supporting Client

Handling issues of dying is a significant activity in the medical profession. Healthcare assistants have adequate training to deal with death situations through multi-tasking and responding to emergencies. They are sources of compassion and comfort for near-death patients and families (Fealy et al., 2019, p.82). Moreover, they assess the patients’ body temperature, maintain air conditioning, and adjust beddings. Healthcare assistants also document changes in dying patients, such as muscle tone loss, breathing changes, and blurred vision.

Realistic Example

Healthcare assistants wash and dress patients, serve meals, and feed near-death patients. They also help the sick move around, got to the toilet, and continuously talk to them. In Ireland community health centers, the assistants sterilize equipment, check the individual’s feet, and restock consulting rooms (Fealy et al., 2019, p.84). In case a patient suffers from diabetes, the health care assistant must examine the symptoms of feeling lost in the feet, lowered blood flow, and foot ulcers.

Personal Belief and Supporting Family

Healthcare assistants if they prefer to get information about all diagnoses of the fatal illness. They also ask patients to indicate if families or physicians should have the authority to start or stop treatment. Clinical assistants routinely seek the next of kin’s consent concerning healthcare decisions to patients nearing death. In Ireland, people emphasize the quality of life instead of its length (Fealy et al., 2019, p.85). Therefore, healthcare assistants influence families to accept the perspective of dying patients refusing medical treatments. Other practitioners commit to religious beliefs to fill gaps regarding dying and death, which policies, laws, and discussions cannot seal.

Five Stages of Grief According to Kubler-Ross

The first stage is denial, and bereaved persons use it to overcome the shock and instant life changes. Notably, false hope and preferable reality help in controlling the feeling of grief. The second step is anger, in which people blame others and feel life is unfair (Morris, Fletcher, and Goldstein, 2019, p.227). Bitterness is a strength binding an individual to the reality of abandonment and loneliness. The third stage is bargaining, which is marked by the aggrieved having false beliefs they reverse the unfortunate event through negotiation. The guilt of not saving the situation follows people in the phase of grief.

Depression is the fourth stage, and individuals in the phase of grief feel empty and numb. They also experience hopelessness, suicidal thoughts, and look overwhelmed. The last stage is acceptance and includes emotional stability and reality re-entrance (Morris, Fletcher and Goldstein, 2019, p.231). Persons in the phase of grief begin to engage with friends, get into new relationships, and evolve into renewed facts.

The Cultural and Spiritual Beliefs

Culture, community traditions, religion, and personal beliefs make grief, death, and dying practices vary from one nation to another. In Ireland, rituals about death take several days before burial happens. Neighbors, friends, and families gather to pray, sing, and share stories before heading to the funeral home (Anderson, Sandars, and Kinnair, 2019, p.17). They stay together the whole night with grieved people to guard the passage of the departed soul. Irish people have a cultural belief the supernatural world can invade the living if they mistreat the dead individuals.

Further, the predominant religion in Ireland is Christianity, which addresses the notion of death. Therefore, Irish people have faith in heaven and hell and may emphasize forgiveness during death or the grieving process (Anderson, Sandars and Kinnair, 2019, p.21). Priests lead funeral services without a specified amount of time for burial to occur. They undertake the grieving process with support from churches, which come together to help the bereaved families.

Conclusion

The dying persons require physical, psychological, and social care throughout the end of their lives. They need caregivers to talk to them, adjust bedding, and help in organizing family meetings. In Ireland, healthcare assistants aid dying patients by moving them around and serving food. At grieving moments, the community gathers to sing, pray, and engage in pain-relieving stories. The stages of grief are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

Reference List

Anderson, E., Sandars, J. and Kinnair, D. (2019). “The nature and benefits of team-based reflection on a patient death by healthcare professionals: A scoping review”, Journal of Interprofessional Care, 33(1), pp.15-25. Web.

Fealy, G. et al. (2019). “Clinical handover practices among healthcare practitioners in acute care services: A qualitative study”, Journal of Clinical Nursing, 28(1-2), pp. 80-88. Web.

Kalajtzidis, J. (2018). “The challenge of death and ethics of social consequences: Death of moral agency”, Ethics & Bioethics, 8(3-4), pp.209-218. Web.

Liu, M., Forbat, L. and Anderson, K. (2019). “Death of a close friend: Short and long-term impacts on physical, psychological and social well-being”. Public Library of Science, 14(4). Web.

Morris, S., Fletcher, K. and Goldstein, R. (2019). “The grief of parents after the death of a young child”. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 26(3), pp.321-338. Web.

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