Abstract
Little is known about the total situation in which aged patients find themselves as the prospect of death increases. This paper focuses upon perceptions of “Death Valley,” the intensive treatment unit of a geriatric hospital. Information was gathered from a variety of sources, including patients who had survived a recent period of residence in “Death Valley” and attending personnel throughout the hospital. Differences between “official” and “unofficial” communications on the subject of death, modes of responding to patients' death verbalizations, and possible sex differences in response to a heightened prospect of death are among the topics covered. Alternative explanations for the findings are discussed.
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This study is part of a larger project supported by USPHS Mental Health Grant MHO-1520. The writer wishes to express his appreciation to colleagues who have contributed in many ways to the work from which this report is derived: Paul T. Costa, Jr., William Dalton, Nancy Durkee, Karen Fleischman, Gerald Kochansky, Mae Kolodny, William McKenna, Neil McLaughlin, William L. Smith, and Paul Wohlford. He is also grateful for critical readings of this manuscript by Costa, McLaughlin, Nancy Rosenthal, Hayward Taylor, and Avery Weisman, M.D.
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Kastenbaum, R. Multiple perspectives on a geriatric “Death Valley”. Community Ment Health J 3, 21–29 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01543061
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01543061