Making sense of experience: Death and old age

Abstract

This article explores the contemporay context in which older people make sense of death; their own and that of other people. It gives a historical perspective on death for the current cohort of older people, identibng four significant catalytic elements; two world wars, a decline in the place of ritual, increased secularisation of society and an emphasis upon individualism. It goes on to look at the changed patterns of health and social care which have been prompted by new medical advances and the rise in the bureaucratic management of care services. The dilemma of choicdconstraint confronting older people is epitomised in the issues of private freedom v. public control contained in the debate on euthanasia. This article seeks to challenge the social stereotypes in which sight is lost of the possibilities in old age for personal choice and the opportunity to accommodate griet Finally, new theoretical perspectives on grief are examined and seen to offer a broader view than is found in classical theories of grief, of what is 'normal' in bereavement. AdditionaUy they propose that support is necessa y within natural networks as well as within therapeutic settings; a breakthrough in the normalisation of grief for older people.

Events management for the end of life

“…In regard to lifestage events focused on later and end of life, the concept of marginalisation is not only present through treatment within the events management literature, but also in more general attitudes towards ageing, dying and the grieving process. In many respects, whilst late modernity and postmodernity have been marked by the rise of individualism and the cult of the self (Miller & Brewer, 2003;Bruce & Yearley, 2006), in reflecting on the end of life Machin (1998) and others identify that the personal dimension of grief and mourning has been suppressed within a system of rational bureaucracy of health and social care.…”