A good death is “one that is free from avoidable distress and suffering, for patients, family, and caregivers; in general accord with the patients' and families' wishes; and reasonably consistent with clinical, cultural, and ethical standards.”
'Peaceful' refers to the dying person having finished all business and made peace with others before his/her death and implies being at peace with his/her own death. It further refers to the manner of dying: not by violence, an accident or a fearsome disease, not by foul means and without much pain.
The most essential domains for a good death included “maintaining hope and pleasure” and “being respected as an individual.” The factors most strongly associated with the perception of a good death were end-of-life plan discussion with parents or others and parental agreement with establishing a living will.
A “good death” needs to involve the presence of loved ones or their participation in the dying process for the sake of the dying person, so they are not alone, and for their loved ones, so they can better process the experience and grieve.
Discussing death
According to an Institute of Medicine report, a good death is: “Free from avoidable distress and suffering for patient, family and caregivers, in general accord with the patient's and family's wishes, and reasonably consistent with clinical, cultural and ethical standards.”
A 'good' death was associated with being able to control the patient's symptoms and help them prepare for and accept death. A 'bad' death was associated with the inability to deal with the patient's negative emotions, resulting in lack of acceptance of death, and distress for family members.
The Institute of Medicine defines a good death a “one that is free from avoidable death and suffering for patients, families and caregivers in general accordance with the patients' and families' wishes.”.
One of the proposed terms about death and dying is "healthy death", which encourages dealing with death positively and leading a lively and happy life until the last moment.
Euthanasia. [Greek, good death.] The term normally implies an intentional termination of life by another at the explicit request of the person who wishes to die. Euthanasia is generally defined as the act of killing an incurably ill person out of concern and compassion for that person's suffering.
This difficult time may be complicated by a phenomenon known as the surge before death, or terminal lucidity, which can happen days, hours, or even minutes before a person's passing. Often occurring abruptly, this period of increased energy and alertness may give families false hope that their loved ones will recover.
The classifications are natural, accident, suicide, homicide, undetermined, and pending. Only medical examiner's and coroners may use all of the manners of death. Other certifiers must use natural or refer the death to the medical examiner. The manner of death is determined by the medical examiner.
According to the interviews, the characteristics of a good death included no suffering, companionship and care, no worries or concerns, dying with dignity, involvement and acceptance, and less impact on family (Table 2).
The early post-mortem phase is most frequently estimated using the classical triad of post-mortem changes – rigor mortis, livor mortis, and algor mortis.
Research suggests that even as your body transitions into unconsciousness, it's possible that you'll still be able to feel comforting touches from your loved ones and hear them speaking. Touch and hearing are the last senses to go when we die.
There are five manners of death (natural, accident, suicide, homicide, and undetermined).
Livor mortis: the first stage of changes after death. Algor mortis: the second stage of changes after death. Rigor mortis: the third stage of changes after death.
The national End of Life Care Strategy for England [18] defines 'a good death' as: being treated as an individual, with dignity and respect. being without pain and other symptoms.
According to the Institute of Medicine, a good death is: free from avoidable distress and suffering for patients, families, and caregivers. in accordance with the wishes of the patient and his family. consistent with clinical, cultural, and ethical standards.
The most essential domains for a good death included “maintaining hope and pleasure” and “being respected as an individual.” The factors most strongly associated with the perception of a good death were end-of-life plan discussion with parents or others and parental agreement with establishing a living will.
There are two types of death that can be declared: Heart/respiratory death and brain death. The first type of death means an irreversible stopping of heart and lung function, whereas brain death means an irreversible stopping of brain function.