Assessment and quantification of Taiwanese children's views of a good death

Abstract

The concept of a "good death" reflects an individual's positive perceptions of and expectations about death. What constitutes a good death varies based on factors such as sociocultural norms, time, space, and even individual characteristics such as age, culture, and health status. Kehl (2006) maintained that this definitional ambiguity has impeded the implementation of measures intended to appropriately assist the dying because it has been difficult to determine what clinical evaluations and caregiving practices should be used to provide patients with more than "a good death" as it is medically defined. Thus, a more comprehensive and systematic conceptual understanding of this concept is urgently necessary. © 2012, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.