Death: A psychosocial veiw

Abstract

Death is part of the process of human development and it is present in our daily life. Different professionals-particularly health professionals-interact with the process of death and dying in their professional activity. However, in addition to being inserted in a social-historical context of death denial, their professional formation is characterized by the emphasis upon theoretical and technical aspects. The understanding of death influences on people's quality of life and also in the way professional activities related to death and dying are performed. In this article we present a reflection about death's psychosocial aspects, considering the importance of seeing death as part of the human development process.