Dynamics of Mortuary Practices in Nagaland: Exploring the Impact of Social Capital

Nagas are a small Indigenous tribal community that inhabits the northeastern region of India. It is inhabited by seventeen recognized tribes including non-Naga tribe of Kuki and Kachari with rich cultural diversity and customary practices. Modernity has been one of the most debated topics, in this regard the paper argues on the responsibility of modernity. The study mainly focuses on the two major tribes of Nagaland that is the Ao tribe and the Angami tribe, as to how the cultural practices in disposing of death is contested and negotiated in contemporary society. Thus, drawing from an ethnohistorical perspective and empirical study, the article depicts how modernity and development tremendously transformed the traditional structure, however, homogeneity in the form of social capital still persists in a heterogeneous society.

Informing mothers of neonatal death and the need for family-centered bereavement care: A phenomenological qualitative study

PURPOSE

To understand the lived experience of mothers surrounding the time of being informed of neonatal deaths in intensive care units.

DESIGN

A phenomenological qualitative approach was employed.

METHODS

Twelve mothers (age 24-41 years) were identified from the neonatal mortality records of two large neonatal intensive care units with high neonate turnover rates in Amman, Jordan. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with the participants. Interpretive phenomenology was used to generate themes regarding the essence of the mother's experience.

RESULTS

Critical analyses of mothers' accounts revealed three major themes: (a) Minimize the hurt, which described how mothers intuited overprotection by their families while the news was conveyed indirectly to them; (b) The striking reality of death, which captured mothers' distressing experiences while realizing the loss of their neonates; and (c) Farwell my baby, which accentuated mothers' needs and experiences while neonates' bodies were honored and prepared for burial per the cultural norms in Jordan.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Our findings highlighted the complex dynamics of familial interactions and cultural influences on mothers' bereavement experiences at the time of neonatal death. The grieving mothers expressed unfulfilled needs of receiving professional bereavement support at the time of neonatal death. Strategies are needed to optimize the supportive role of specialized nurses in providing family-centered bereavement care to mothers and their families who experience neonatal death.

Bereavement practices employed by hospitals and medical practitioners toward attending funeral of patients: A systematic review

OBJECTIVES

To ascertain bereavement practices offered by hospitals and medical practitioners (MPs), factors that influence the likelihood of MPs' involvement in funeral attendance, the benefits and barriers to attendance to a patient's funeral as perceived by MPs and the rate of attendance to patients' funeral by MPs.

DESIGN

MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase, PubMed, and Google Scholar were searched with a systematic search structure for randomized controlled trials, comparative observational studies, case series, cross-sectional studies, editorials, and letters. The search was limited to English only. The study was registered with Prospero (Registration Number: CRD42018095368).

RESULTS

A total of 381 articles were identified with 46 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. Of the 46, 16 were editorials and 12 were letters. Eighteen were cross-sectional studies conducted in the United States, Canada, Australia, Israel, and Ireland. Year of publication ranged from 1990 to 2017. Of these, 12 were quantitative, 3 were qualitative, and 3 were mixed-method studies. Two of the cross-sectional studies involved family members of deceased patients while others involved MPs. Bereavement practices offered by hospitals included memorial services, letters, and services provided by bereavement coordinators. Bereavement practices employed by MPs included answering or making phone calls, attending family meetings, and sending condolence letters. MPs' attendance at a patient's funeral was influenced by MPs' gender, age years of experience the medical specialty. Perceived benefits of MPs' attendance at a patient's funeral included providing support to the family, extending the professional relationship, illustrating respect to the patient and the family, resolving guilt and personal growth. Barriers to the attendance included a lack of time, blurring of professional boundaries, personal discomfort with death, emotional arousal, and discouragement by colleagues. General practice had an attendance rate of 71%. Attendance rates for palliative care, oncology, and psychiatrists ranged from 63% to 81%, 7.1% to 67%, and 15% to 67%, respectively. Intensivists had an attendance rate of 22%.

CONCLUSION

Several bereavement practices are provided by hospitals and MPs. Funeral attendance is an uncommon bereavement practice. MPs' attitudes toward attending a patient's funeral are understudied in many specialties. Patient factors that influence MPs' participation in bereavement practices are poorly understood.

Death and the body as property

Unlike houses or other buildings that can handed down in a will, our bodies do not have the status of property and cannot be passed on by way of gift. It is essential therefore that a testator appoints an executor who they trust to carry out the wishes of the deceased even in the face of family objection. District nurses are well placed to ensure that patients and their relatives are properly informed on how to ensure that arrangements for the disposal of the patient's body after death comply with the wishes of the patient. In this article, Richard Griffith considers the legal definition of death and the law relating to the disposal of a body after death.