ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a brief glimpse at aspects of death today, including when, why, and where deaths most commonly occur within a modern Western society. Contemporary death, which is the primary reason for the provision of cemeteries, is reviewed by age, gender, cause, and place. The male death rate is higher than that of females for most leading causes of death. However, for some causes the number of female deaths typically exceeds the number of male deaths. Numerous authors on death and bereavement remark on the “institutionalization” of death through an evident historical shift from the most common place of death being the traditional home bed, to death more typically occurring in a hospital or similar institution. The available data relating to cremation suggests that around 80% of deaths currently occur in hospitals and other institutions; and this trend appears to be increasing.
