Assingments % - Navigating the End: Grief and the Dying Process Through Personal and Professional Lenses

This project gives you an opportunity to explore in depth the topic you selected previously, and found peer reviewed articles related to it. Now it is time to write up your research. Your essay should be at least 5-pages long, must include within-text citations in APA style and at least 7 peer-reviewed sources. Also, the essay must address the following points.
(1) The introduction will describe your topic and why it is important to research it.
(2) At the end of the introduction state a hypothesis or a question that you plan to explore in this project.
(3) Develop the body of your essay by integrating the seven articles you selected (and textbook if applicable) and appropriately citing your sources in APA style within the essay (this will be the bulk of your paper).
(4) Conclusion:
-Briefly describe whether your hypothesis was supported or your question answered,
-what you learned from reading these articles.
References:
(5) The last page of your essay (6th page) should be an APA style reference page listing the articles you used and your textbook if applicable.
I have chosen to write my paper on Death, dying, and grief, the final chapter in our textbook. I have always been fascinated in the process of death ever since my grandfather was in hospice. While he was in hospice I watched him go through the whole process of dying and also went through the aftermath of his death. In our book it explains different ways in which people experience, understand, and deal with the end of life. Death, dying, and grief can be difficult to process and vary with everyone. I feel like death is usually avoided as a topic because it is a heavy topic but it also will happen to everyone at some point in their life.

Chochinov, H. M., Bolton, J., & Sareen, J. (2020). Death, dying, and dignity in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 23(10), 1294–1295. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2020.0406
Mroz, E. L., Bluck, S., Sharma, S., & Liao, H. (2019). Loss in the Life Story: Remembering death and illness across adulthood. Psychological Reports, 123(1), 97–123. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294119854175 Links to an external site.

Bruce, A., & Beuthin, R. (2019). Medically assisted dying in Canada: “Beautiful Death” is transforming nurses’ experiences of suffering. Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 52(4), 268–277. https://doi.org/10.1177/0844562119856234
Bhatnagar, M., Kempfer, L. A., & Lagnese, K. R. (2023, March 13). Hospice care. StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK537296/
Kochen, E. M., Jenken, F., Boelen, P. A., Deben, L. M. A., Fahner, J. C., Van Den Hoogen, A., Teunissen, S. C. C. M., Geleijns, K., & Kars, M. C. (2020). When a child dies: a systematic review of well-defined parent-focused bereavement interventions and their alignment with grief- and loss theories. BMC Palliative Care, 19(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-020-0529-z
On grief and grieving. (n.d.). Google Books. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=7cYgCAHDlrQC&oi=fnd&pg=PT14&dq=+psychology+stages+of+death&ots=Nd9YtslhRB&sig=qQwgCFC-Q-9tBPmKDBR1eaeFtz4#v=onepage&q=psychology%20stages%20of%20death&f=false
Culture and Death: A Multicultural Perspective – Goldsmiths Research online. (n.d.). https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/11016/

Struggling with where to start this assignment? Follow this guide to tackle your assignment easily!

Your research paper on Death, Dying, and Grief seems to be a very thoughtful exploration of a topic that touches many aspects of life. Here’s a guideline on how you can structure your essay based on your chosen topic and the sources you provided. I’ll walk you through the sections and how to incorporate the references effectively:

1. Introduction (1/2 – 1 page)

The introduction should set the stage for the reader. You’ll want to introduce the topic and why it is significant to study death, dying, and grief.

Start with the importance of the topic: You can open with a general statement about the inevitability of death and the universal nature of grief. For example, you could mention that despite being a topic that people often avoid, death is a part of everyone’s experience, and understanding how people process it is crucial for personal and societal health.
Your personal connection: You’ve shared that your interest in this topic began with your experience of watching your grandfather go through hospice care. You can introduce this personal story to illustrate why you chose to explore death and grief in depth.
State your hypothesis or research question: This could be something like: “How do individuals and families experience and process death, and what role does cultural and personal context play in shaping the grieving process?”

This section can segue into the exploration of various psychological and social aspects of death and grief as you examine the literature.

2. Body of the Paper (3-4 pages)

In this section, you will present your research and integrate the seven sources. You should break it down into logical subsections or thematic areas to present the different findings from your sources:

2.1. The Process of Dying and Grief

Chochinov et al. (2020) discuss the dignity in the time of COVID-19, which has transformed how we approach death and grief, particularly in the medical context. You can cite this when discussing how the context of death impacts the experience of grief.
Bruce & Beuthin (2019) provide insights into medically assisted death in Canada and how this approach reshapes nurses’ perceptions of suffering and death. You could incorporate this perspective when exploring how medical interventions influence the dying process and affect loved ones.

2.2. Psychological Perspectives on Grief

Mroz et al. (2019) discusses the role of loss in life stories and how death and illness are remembered across adulthood. This article could be important for explaining how individuals make sense of grief through reflection and the role of memory in grieving.
Kochen et al. (2020) looks at the loss of a child and the interventions for bereaved parents. This source would be essential when exploring grief in the context of parental loss, offering valuable insights into intervention strategies.

2.3. Cultural Influences on Death and Grieving

Culture and Death: A Multicultural Perspective highlights how death rituals and grieving processes vary across different cultures. This would be an excellent resource when you delve into how culture influences the way people cope with death.
You can also draw from your textbook for additional psychological and sociological theories on death (perhaps the Kubler-Ross stages of grief and how they are viewed in different cultures or under different conditions).

2.4. Hospice Care and Support Systems

Bhatnagar et al. (2023) on hospice care will be useful for discussing how hospice professionals guide individuals through the dying process and the support systems available to families. It could also help with the emotional and psychological dynamics that unfold in these settings.

3. Conclusion (1/2 page)

Summary of findings: Briefly recap the major points discussed in your paper. You can describe whether your research supported your hypothesis or answered the research question. Did you find that grief processes differ by cultural contexts or by the circumstances surrounding death? Or did you learn something new about the interventions that can help those grieving?
Personal reflection: Mention what you have learned from reading these articles and how your personal experience (observing your grandfather) has been shaped by this academic research.
Implications: Consider the implications of your findings on how society should approach death and grief. This might include suggestions for more open discussions of death, better support for families, or more comprehensive care strategies for those dying and those left behind.

4. References Page

Ensure that all of your citations in the paper are formatted according to APA style. This page should list all your sources, including your textbook and the seven peer-reviewed articles.

Here’s an example of how to format one of your sources:

Chochinov, H. M., Bolton, J., & Sareen, J. (2020). Death, dying, and dignity in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 23(10), 1294–1295. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2020.0406

The rest of your sources should follow the same format. Be sure to double-check the formatting (including the use of italics, hanging indents, and other APA-specific details).

By following this structure, your paper will present a clear and comprehensive exploration of the process of death, dying, and grief. Your sources will help ground the paper in research and evidence, and the combination of your personal experience with academic research will add depth to the discussion.