ABSTRACT
Religion has long provided a framework on which dying individuals and their
loved ones construct meanings of illness and death (Park, 2005). In the above
excerpt from Illness Narratives (1988), Kleinman highlights the importance of a
systemic understanding in this regard-that the effects of irreversible health
conditions can reverberate beyond the patient and touch those who are in direct
relationship with him or her. Ironically, however, research on the impact of death
and bereavement rarely adopts a systemic perspective, instead concentrating
nearly exclusively on the adjustment of individuals without regard to relational
or family factors (Hooghe & Neimeyer, 2012). Yet, particularly for persons at
the end-of-life (EOL) who are increasingly dependent on their caregivers for the
provision of basic needs, the meaning of their condition could be embedded
in these relationships and reciprocally contribute to death anxiety and other
existential concerns. Given the centrality of religion for many aging persons
(Idler et al., 2003), mutual appreciation of the perceived role of religious faith in
the dying person’s life might affect his or her quality adjustment at the EOL.
Focusing on a sample of hospice patients and their caregivers, this study explored
whether such mutuality in the patient-caregiver relationship predicts patients’
self-esteem and attitudes toward death.
