Conversations About Death: Talking to Residents in Independent, Assisted, and Long-Term Care Settings

The purpose of the present study was to begin to understand/conceptualize how older adults in three different levels of care think about death. Based on the recommendations of facility administrators, participants were chosen and 17 face-to-face semistructured interviews were conducted with older adults residing in independent, assisted and long-term care settings. Utilizing a qualitative method, this study allowed the respondents to tell their own stories about death. Analysis of the data yielded the following themes that were presented: acceptance of death, talk of the afterlife, impact of living situation and talk of suicide. Respondents talked of acceptance and little fear, mixed notions of the afterlife, the importance of place of residence, and the salience of suicide as an issue. Practice implications for clinicians involved in end-of-life care and study limitations are presented.