ABSTRACT
Nurses' experiences of end of life care indicated that the consequences of loss for their patients were similar, regardless of the environment they practised in. Significant loss is described as a process of change, not only for the person themselves, but also for their significant others. Currer describes social death as an aspect of a relationship, and of how one person perceives another. Incremental physical changes, together with social isolation, exemplify the cumulative loss that occurs through the palliative phase of living with dying, and the final decline that terminates in death. Deterioration results in patients needing more support. An increasing dependence on others culminates in a sense of loss of control. Roman Catholicism is a particularly strict form of Christian culture. The Catholic Church places major emphasis on the sacraments and the symbolic significance of worship. Consequences of loss for patients were similar, regardless of practice context.
