IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v75y2012i1p217-224.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Acceptance of dying: A discourse analysis of palliative care literature

Author

Listed:
  • Zimmermann, Camilla

Abstract

The subject of death denial in the West has been examined extensively in the sociological literature. However, there has not been a similar examination of its “opposite”, the acceptance of death. In this study, I use the qualitative method of discourse analysis to examine the use of the term “acceptance” of dying in the palliative care literature from 1970 to 2001. A Medline search was performed by combining the text words “accept or acceptance” with the subject headings “terminal care or palliative care or hospice care”, and restricting the search to English language articles in clinical journals discussing acceptance of death in adults. The 40 articles were coded and analysed using a critical discourse analysis method. This paper focuses on the theme of acceptance as integral to palliative care, which had subthemes of acceptance as a goal of care, personal acceptance of healthcare workers, and acceptance as a facilitator of care. For patients and families, death acceptance is a goal that they can be helped to attain; for palliative care staff, acceptance of dying is a personal quality that is a precondition for effective practice. Acceptance not only facilitates the dying process for the patient and family, but also renders care easier. The analysis investigates the intertextuality of these themes with each other and with previous texts. From a Foucauldian perspective, I suggest that the discourse on acceptance of dying represents a productive power, which disciplines patients through apparent psychological and spiritual gratification, and encourages participation in a certain way to die.

Suggested Citation

  • Zimmermann, Camilla, 2012. "Acceptance of dying: A discourse analysis of palliative care literature," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(1), pages 217-224.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:75:y:2012:i:1:p:217-224
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.02.047
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953612002341
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.02.047?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James, Nicky & Field, David, 1992. "The routinization of hospice: Charisma and bureaucratization," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 34(12), pages 1363-1375, June.
    2. Seale, Clive & Addington-Hall, Julia, 1995. "Euthanasia: The role of good care," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 40(5), pages 581-587, March.
    3. Armstrong, David, 1987. "Silence and truth in death and dying," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 24(8), pages 651-657, January.
    4. Zimmermann, Camilla, 2004. "Denial of impending death: a discourse analysis of the palliative care literature," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(8), pages 1769-1780, October.
    5. Kellehear, Allan, 1984. "Are we a 'death-denying' society? A sociological review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 18(9), pages 713-721, January.
    6. McNamara, Beverley & Waddell, Charles & Colvin, Margaret, 1994. "The institutionalization of the good death," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 1501-1508, December.
    7. Chattoo, Sangeeta & Atkin, Karl M., 2009. "Extending specialist palliative care to people with heart failure: Semantic, historical and practical limitations to policy guidelines," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 147-153, July.
    8. Bradshaw, Ann, 1996. "The spiritual dimension of hospice: The secularization of an ideal," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 409-419, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lang, Alexander, 2020. "The good death and the institutionalisation of dying: An interpretive analysis of the Austrian discourse," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    2. Lang, Alexander & Frankus, Elisabeth & Heimerl, Katharina, 2022. "The perspective of professional caregivers working in generalist palliative care on ‘good dying’: An integrative review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Borgstrom, Erica & Walter, Tony, 2015. "Choice and compassion at the end of life: A critical analysis of recent English policy discourse," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 136, pages 99-105.
    2. Gott, M. & Small, Neil & Barnes, Sarah & Payne, Sheila & Seamark, David, 2008. "Older people's views of a good death in heart failure: Implications for palliative care provision," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 67(7), pages 1113-1121, October.
    3. Broom, Alex & Cavenagh, John, 2010. "Masculinity, moralities and being cared for: An exploration of experiences of living and dying in a hospice," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(5), pages 869-876, September.
    4. Ana Patrícia Hilário & Fábio Rafael Augusto, 2022. "Pathways for a ‘Good Death’: Understanding End-of-Life Practices Through An Ethnographic Study in Two Portuguese Palliative Care Units," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 27(2), pages 219-235, June.
    5. Lang, Alexander, 2020. "The good death and the institutionalisation of dying: An interpretive analysis of the Austrian discourse," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    6. Kathy Charmaz & Virginia Olesen, 1997. "Ethnographic Research in Medical Sociology," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 25(4), pages 452-494, May.
    7. Donna Goodridge, 2013. "Planning for Serious Illness amongst Community-Dwelling Older Adults," Nursing Research and Practice, Hindawi, vol. 2013, pages 1-7, April.
    8. Lang, Alexander & Frankus, Elisabeth & Heimerl, Katharina, 2022. "The perspective of professional caregivers working in generalist palliative care on ‘good dying’: An integrative review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    9. Seale, Clive, 2009. "Hastening death in end-of-life care: A survey of doctors," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 1659-1666, December.
    10. Dumas, Jean-Malik, 2016. "Essays in behavioral strategy," Other publications TiSEM a04c1b1b-eeed-48ad-894b-7, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    11. Olson, Rebecca Eileen, 2011. "Managing hope, denial or temporal anomie? Informal cancer carers' accounts of spouses' cancer diagnoses," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(6), pages 904-911, September.
    12. Marjorie Dobratz, 2004. "A Comparative Study of Variables That Have an Impact on Noncancer End-of-Life Diagnoses," Clinical Nursing Research, , vol. 13(4), pages 309-325, November.
    13. Angela VLAD CHIRVASUTA, 2022. "A Century-Old Yet Topical Controversy - Euthanasia," RAIS Journal for Social Sciences, Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies, vol. 6(1), pages 84-95, May.
    14. Cohen, Joachim & Marcoux, Isabelle & Bilsen, Johan & Deboosere, Patrick & van der Wal, Gerrit & Deliens, Luc, 2006. "European public acceptance of euthanasia: Socio-demographic and cultural factors associated with the acceptance of euthanasia in 33 European countries," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 63(3), pages 743-756, August.
    15. Kirby, Emma & Broom, Alex & MacArtney, John & Lewis, Sophie & Good, Phillip, 2021. "Hopeful dying? The meanings and practice of hope in palliative care family meetings," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    16. Danyliv, Andriy & O'Neill, Ciaran, 2015. "Attitudes towards legalising physician provided euthanasia in Britain: The role of religion over time," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 52-56.
    17. Chattoo, Sangeeta & Atkin, Karl M., 2009. "Extending specialist palliative care to people with heart failure: Semantic, historical and practical limitations to policy guidelines," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(2), pages 147-153, July.
    18. Whitelaw, Sandy & Bell, Anthony & Clark, David, 2022. "The expression of ‘policy’ in palliative care: A critical review," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 126(9), pages 889-898.
    19. Olson, Rebecca E. & Smith, Alexandra & Good, Phillip & Neate, Emily & Hughes, Cody & Hardy, Janet, 2021. "Emotionally reflexive labour in end-of-life communication," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:75:y:2012:i:1:p:217-224. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.