Cultures of Eschatology

Wieser, Veronika; Eltschinger, Vincent; Heiss, Johann

doi:10.1515/9783110597745

Cited by 5 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…There is a cultural barrier in investigating view of death in Japan. From an anthropological perspective, death is traditionally not spoken about in Japanese society, functioning as a cultural barrier called kegare [ 8 , 9 ] This tradition has roots in ancient Japan and a background in Shinto-Buddhist relations with a complex history of coexistence [ 10 , 11 ]. Our clinical experiences suggest that this avoidance also acts as a driving force in geriatric institutions to keep death out of sight.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meaning of death among care workers of geriatric institutions in a death-avoidant culture: Qualitative descriptive analyses of in-depth interviews by Buddhist priests

Ogawa

Takase²,

Shimmei³

et al. 2022

PLoS ONE

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Objective Care workers’ views of clients’ death have not been explored in Japan because of a cultural tendency to avoid talking openly about death. However, given the arising problems in end-of-life care settings, such as abuse and burnout, understanding care workers’ views regarding death is essential for designing effective interventions. We had two main research questions: Do care workers in Japan have their own ideas about death after working in the landscape of dying and death? Do these ideas influence care workers’ professional lives? Methods We recruited interviewees based on a quantitative survey of care workers at 10 geriatric institutions in Tokyo. Among the 323 respondents, 23 survey respondents were willing to participate in an interview. After the scheduling process, nine individuals were able to participate in an in-depth interview. To overwhelm cultural avoidance regarding death that prevents care workers from talking openly about death, Buddhist priests conducted interviews in the current study. Physicians and researchers assisted the interviews. Because this was exploratory studies in which little is known about the topic in question, we adapted a qualitative descriptive approach. Findings Thematic analysis revealed that: 1) care workers had clear views about conditions of clients’ good death after working in the field of dying and death; 2) care workers were motivated by past experiences of being close to dying themselves; and 3) care workers regarded their care for the dying as an experience that enriched their lives. In addition, the results revealed that the concept of spiritual care in Japan is still its infancy among care workers because of its vague definition. Conclusions Care workers were willing to work for dying people with their view of death, and regarded their jobs as important opportunities for personal growth through caring for the dying.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%