Diverse Cultural Beliefs and Practices About Death and Dying in the Elderly

Practices related to death and dying vary in different cultures although the feelings of loss and grief are universal. Recognizing these differences is important to clinical practice in a multiethnic society. Five strategies are recommended to orient United States health-care practitioners to deal with diversity and its potential conflict with the traditional legal and ethical practices of Western biomedicine: (1) redefine the family according to the patient's orientation; (2) acknowledge the cultural basis of Western healthcare systems; (3) recognize the diversity of health-care practices and their respective ethical structures; (4) incorporate different views of the value of autonomy; and (5) establish standards of care sensitive to these different values.