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Body of Knowledge Matrix

Indicators / Categories	Cultural / Socialization	Religious / Spiritual	Professional Issues	Historical Perspectives	Contemporary Perspectives
DYING PROCESS	sociocultural perspectives on dying: health care/medical interactions, inhibitors to health care, death anxiety	facing death, rituals, meaning, suffering, treatment decisions, afterlife, symbolic immortality	self care, boundaries, compassion fatigue, burnout	hospice, demographics of death, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross	Causes and patterns of death: US and international, inhibitors to health care, gender issues, hospice et. al., social constructions, coping theories, NDE, death anxiety
END OF LIFE DECISION MAKING	advance care planning, euthanasia, organ donation, bioethical principles	advance care planning, euthanasia, organ donation, suffering	ethics of caring, rights and responsibilities, holistic		treatment options and choices, holistic
LOSS, GRIEF, & MOURNING	factors affecting experience of and expression of grief, funeral rituals and body disposition, post death activities, mourning rituals, disenfranchisement, clash with legal system, stigmatization	meaning making, funeral rituals and body disposition, post death activities, suffering	burnout, compassion fatigue, knowledge of current research, translating research into practice- clinical competence	linear models; psychoanalytic perspective: Freud, Lindemann, attachment theory: Bowlby, Parkes task based: Worden, Rando, funeral practices, commemorative rituals	non-linear models; continuing bonds: Silverman/Klass, Dual Process Model: Stroebe & Schut, complicated grief, meaning reconstruction: Neimeyer, disenfranchised grief, grieving styles, funeral practice, commemorative rituals
ASSESSMENT & INTERVENTION	communication, cultural embeddedness, awareness context, truth telling, determination of death, multicultural counseling	team approach, predeath/post death rituals, suffering	communication, truth telling, identifying risk factors, death anxiety, knowledge of current research, CISM, grief counseling vs. grief therapy	determination of death	complicated grief, life style, determination of death
TRAUMATIC DEATH	cause of death, rituals	meaning reconstruction, rituals	response considerations for public response (CISM, RC)	effects or war, famine	definition of traumatic death, terrorism, nuclear era, mass disasters, environmental destruction, war, prevention
DEATH EDUCATION	cultural awareness, death anxiety, death system	clergy training, personhood, suffering	training and certification, health care professional/medical training, evaluation, qualifications	Aries, goals, prevention, denial of death	goals, promotiontion of life: health and well being

Indicators / Categories	Life Span	Larger Systems	Family & Individual	Resources & Research	Ethical / Legal
DYING PROCESS	Normative developmental issues, death anxiety, children and dying	hospice, palliative care, palliative medicine, biomedical model, institutions (prisons, nursing homes), dying trajectory, caregiver issues	hospice, palliative care, palliative medicine, dying trajectory, caregiver issues, gender roles, awareness context (Glazer & Strauss)	SUPPORT study, analysis of stage theories, organizations and journals, gender and medical research	allocation of resources, justice, truth telling- rights and responsibilities,
END OF LIFE DECISION MAKING	autonomy for special populations, developmental issues	advance care planning, assisted death , organ donation	advance care planning, treatment decisions, assisted death, gender differences in choices, organ donation, holistic	community organizations, professional organizations	bioethical principles, advance directives (proxy, living will), wills, trusts, DNR, euthanasia, assisted, suicide, treatment decisions, termination of treatment, organ donation
LOSS, GRIEF, & MOURNING	developmental issues: children, adolescents, early adulthood, middle adulthood, later adulthood, parental loss, child loss, widowhood,	rituals, body disposition, internet, stigmatization	rituals, coping styles, demands on family system- chronic illness, sudden death, anticipated death, normal grief reactions, expressions of grief anticipatory grief, changing family roles, gender differences in grieving, child loss, death of a parent, partner loss, sibling loss, disenfranchised grief, pet loss	Empirical research on current theories: Bowlby, Parkes, Worden, Silverman, Stroebe, Neimeyer	workplace bereavement policies, body disposition, autopsy
ASSESSMENT & INTERVENTION	life span grief counseling, grief therapy, death anxiety	after care, grief centers, support groups, self help groups, children's programs, assisted death	truth telling, awareness context, holistic, family meetings/functions, family functioning, complicated risk factors, bibliotherapy , expressive therapies , complementary therapies, gender styles and choices, special populations	criticisms of current practices, empirically based practice, community response- national and local , empirical research on support groups, self help groups, advocacy groups, gender issues regarding participation in research	determination of death, bioethical principles (autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice), ethics of caring, body disposition, death certificate
TRAUMATIC DEATH	demographics, suicide rate, developmental issues/stages- homicide, suicide,	public death, rituals, terrorism, homicide, suicide, horrendous death, natural disasters, man made disasters, role of the media	homicide, suicide, responses as a function of gender, rituals	major national organizations: NOVA, SIDSA, TAPS, MADD and AAOS	capital punishment, terror management, criminal justice system- impact on family
DEATH EDUCATION	tailor education to children's conceptual development, death anxiety, death awareness	journalism, news reporting, TV, media (films, books, music), formal and informal, violence	family transition of knowledge, formal, informal, goals	resources for kids (literature), applying principles and standards, evaluative judgments	extension of life, issues surrounding treatment and decision making

Updated: July 24, 2009

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