ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the family and shows how dying is relationally experienced, achieved and resisted in relation to kinship ties. It explores how recent shifts in family structures and family life may be reflected in, and inflect, the contemporary experience of dying. The centrality of the family in achieving successful 'outcomes' within palliative and hospice settings has been well documented within the health and medical literature. The dying process is situated within a dynamic social and cultural environment whereby the very character of family and family life is evolving. A family member entering palliative and end-of-life care settings significantly impacts on families and informal carers, and for the majority of people, a family member dying is the most significant event in their lives. Family dynamics at the end of life reflect wider cultural practices in and around kinship and collectivist versus individualist culture.
