Outline the factors that can affect an individual’s views on death and dying

It is important to understand that people can have differing views about death and dying. Whilst the thought of death may fill some people with dread and they may avoid talking about it, other people may be happy to openly discuss and view it as part of the ‘circle of life’.

There are several factors that can affect an individual’s views on death and dying including:

• Religion/spirituality – belief in afterlife, death rituals etc.
• Age – death is accepted more in society for people that are older
• Past experience – some people may have had no experiences of someone they know dying, others may have a lot of experience
• Culture – different cultures see the process of death and dying differently, it is common in England for people to hide their emotions
• Life outlook – a person’s outlook on life could help them to accept death and dying or more or, conversely, fill them with fear and anxiety
• Emotions – the thought of saying goodbye forever can be very intense and invoke many different emotions
• Social – many societies today treat death and dying as a taboo subject, sometimes referred to as the medicalisation of death resulting in people being less exposed to it