Two Decades of Research on Dying: What do we Know about the Patient?

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Abstract
The systematic study of dying is an important endeavor that deserves attention from sophisticated researchers in many disciplines. It would be especially useful to bring dying into the mainstream of stress research. Although much information is available regarding the demographic aspects of death, it is remarkable that there is so little generalizable empirical data about the process of dying and the experiences of dying persons. Most of the available data are either methodologically flawed, limited in scope, or based on small and non-representative samples. This article reviews the literature on terminal patients and the nature of their experiences during the time before their death. The discussion is divided into four parts. First, we examine the magnitude of the problem by identifying the number of individuals each year who must confront their own death. Second, we discuss the emotional responses of dying patients to their impending death. The third section deals with interventions for the dying patient, and the fourth identifies areas for future research.