Human death: A concept analysis study

• Main Authors: Haleh Jafari, Mohammad Ali Cheraghi, Shahzad Pashaeypoor, Akram Sadat Hoseini
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2020-01-01
• Series: Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Sciences
• Subjects: concept analysis; death; dying; nursing
• Online Access: http://www.jnmsjournal.org/article.asp?issn=2345-5756;year=2020;volume=7;issue=3;spage=170;epage=179;aulast=Jafari

Context: Death is always considered as one of the major concerns of humankind. In spite of the diverse believes about the concept of death which are heavily influenced by the culture and traditions of societies, there are also commonalities regarding it. Aims: The aim of this study was to analyze the concept of human death by Walker and Avant concept analysis method. Setting and Design: This is a concept analysis and library study. Materials and Methods: To clarify the concept of death, the internet search of the Persian and English words death, dying ‘dying patient, concept analysis and Walker and Avant was done in SAGE, PubMed, Medline, Google scholar, science direct, and Scopus databases and the related articles and book about death were reviewed. In the present study, it was attempted to extract the commonalities of death and clarify this concept further. To clarify the concept of death, the Walker and Avant model was used. Statistical Analysis Used: No statistical methods were used in this study. Results: The findings reveal that death is a metaphysical phenomenon with features such as a part of life from the beginning of creation; an ambiguous and sometimes horrific truth; too far; too close; certain and inevitable truth; universal for all beings; a necessity for excellence; divine blessing for man; passage to another world and irreversible. Conclusions: It seems that this concept requires more and more research, and deeper knowledge and appreciation regarding it can lead to more positive and logical attitudes toward it.