Diversity and Death

Talking about death to someone with a terminal illness is very difficult: yet, it can be therapeutic and meaningful to the dying person to share life experiences and the fear or readiness for death. Such disclosures can be comforting for the ill person and, for the survivor, it can provide meaningful reminiscence as well as serve as a reminder to prepare for their own ultimate transition.

Cultural conceptions of death and dying vary; so, it is of interest for us to learn more about the meaning of life and death and customs and beliefs associated with Diversity and Death from your cultural perspectives. Your task, therefore, is to write a research paper incorporating the following aspects:

• Present your personal cultural conception of dying and death. Be certain to give ethnic background, any diversity issue that would help us become more knowledgeable about different perspectives and practices.
• Describe family customs to comfort/care for those with impending death.
• What insight does your spiritual system give regarding death. Is there a belief in afterlife?

Be sure to “narrow” the scope/focus of the paper. A “broad overview” of a topic will lose points. In the introduction of your paper, let the reader know the purpose; why it is of interest. Choose at least 6 articles that are from scholarly journals such as The Association for Death Education and Counseling, The American Psychological Association, The American Society on Aging, and various nursing and medical journals. At least three journal resources of the six should include some sort of research study and results. At least three of your articles must be from the past two years.

Include results of studies published on the issue/topic of the paper such as how many participants, how done, and what was found, learned from the study. Be sure to make the paper flow rather than be a collection of bits and pieces. Summarize your paper well so that it pulls together the information that is enlightening to the reader.

Guidelines:

1. Papers must be written using the current APA Publication Manual. Papers must be five to six pages double spaced plus a cover page and list of references page.
2. Papers must include a minimum of six relevant resources/journal articles, appropriately cited and referenced. At least three of these articles must have been published in the past 2 years.
3. Be certain to follow APA style in referencing.