Deck 19: Death and Dying

Question 1

Charlie was in a serious car accident. When he was brought to the hospital his vital signs were weak. The health-care team did their best to stabilize him, but his heart stopped and they were unable to start it again. His motor reflexes are absent, his pupils are unresponsive, and his EEG has been flat for at least 10 minutes. If he is tested again in 24 hours and the results are the same, then what is the diagnosis?

A) clinical death
B) vegetative state
C) persistive vegetative state
D) whole brain death

Answer 1

D

Question 2

A person who is 57 years of age is most likely to die from ______.

A) diabetes
B) suicide
C) heart attack
D) cerebrovascular accident

Answer 2

A

Question 3

What is a common source of injury-related death from ages 15-34?

A) illness
B) homicide
C) suffocation
D) falls

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What makes opioid dependency difficult to treat?

A) Medical approaches are ineffective.
B) These drugs are highly addictive.
C) Behavioral approaches are poorly understood.
D) These drugs are very relaxing.

Question 5

What is a leading source of mortality throughout life?

A) illness
B) suicide
C) homicide
D) poisoning

Question 6

Permanent brain damage occurs after oxygen deprivation for a minimum of how many minutes?

A) 3
B) 5
C) 15
D) 30

Question 7

Ending life in a way that is true to one's preferences is called ______.

A) the dying process
B) dying with dignity
C) acceptance
D) adaptation

Question 8

Death from unintentional poisoning tends to occur most often in which age group?

A) 55-65
B) 35-45
C) 15-25
D) 10-15

Question 9

If the patient appears awake but is unaware, due to the permanent loss of all activity in the cortex, and has been this way for at least 4 weeks, the patient is said to be ______.

A) clinically dead
B) in a vegetative state
C) in a persistive vegetative state
D) whole brain dead

Question 10

When the heart stops beating, it is referred to as ______.

A) whole brain death
B) clinical death
C) vegetative state
D) persistent vegetative state

Question 11

Which part of the brain is most vulnerable to anoxia?

A) cortex
B) brainstem
C) white matter
D) midbrain

Question 12

The risk of dying for infants and young children has decreased since 1960 by what percentage?

A) 94%
B) 85%
C) 60%
D) 44%

Question 13

The leading cause of death from young adulthood into middle adulthood is ______.

A) suicide
B) gunshots
C) traffic accidents
D) opioid overdose

Question 14

Who is likely to have the most success managing opioid dependency?

A) Kristen, who is using medical and behavioral treatment
B) Alex, who is using behavioral treatment and spiritual support
C) Thomas, who is using only behavioral treatment
D) Monique, who is using only spiritual support

Question 15

Which term means the irreversible loss of functioning in the cortex and the brainstem?

A) clinical death
B) whole brain death
C) brain damage
D) persistive vegetative state

Question 16

Which criterion is used to determine whole brain death?

A) incoherent speech
B) lack of response to painful stimuli
C) motor reflexes that diminish over 10 minutes
D) flat electroencephalogram for at least 5 minutes

Question 17

Anoxia means ______.

A) blood loss
B) loss of brain tissue
C) loss of oxygen
D) fluid loss

Question 18

Childhood deaths are most commonly due to ______.

A) homicide
B) illness
C) accidents
D) suicide

Question 19

The elderly are most at risk of death from ______.

A) drug overdoses
B) heart disease
C) suicide
D) falls

Question 20

Which medical advance has contributed to the need for very precise legal definitions of death?

A) electroencephalogram
B) heart-lung machine
C) intravenous fluids
D) mechanical ventilator

Question 21

A concern that was a major factor for persons in Oregon who chose physician-assisted suicide was ______.

A) being unhappy living alone with a medical condition
B) lack of understanding about their medical condition
C) having less than a year to live because of a medical condition
D) loss of dignity due to the medical condition

Question 22

A living will is a legal document that permits a person to ______.

A) give legal right to someone else to make health care decisions for the person
B) make health-care wishes known if the person is unable to do so
C) determine which medications are best for a disease the person is experiencing
D) decide who will receiving property upon the person's death

Question 23

Which cultural group views life and death as phases of a cycle?

A) Hopi Indians
B) Melanesians
C) the Kwanga of Papua New Guinea
D) the Buddhists of Japan

Question 24

Which term means death from removal of life-sustaining treatment?

A) active euthanasia
B) passive euthanasia
C) palliative care
D) hospice care

Question 25

In a state where it is legal to be performed, a person who requests physician-assisted suicide is most likely to have which condition?

A) cancer
B) heart disease
C) kidney disease
D) emphysema

Question 26

The philosophy of the hospice approach emphasizes ______.

A) prolonging life
B) financial planning for family members
C) prolonging quality of life
D) creating a health-care proxy

Question 27

Katrina has given her son the legal right to make health-care decisions on her behalf in the event that she is unable to do so. What advance directive did she prepare?

A) living will
B) do not resuscitate order
C) durable power of attorney
D) estate will

Question 28

Margaret is 59 years old and has lived in her home for 30 years. Over the years, she has fixed up her house to give it the cottage feel that she loves and created a beautiful rose garden. Her children are grown and gone, and she is content to live alone with her two dogs. For several years, Margaret has been struggling with emphysema. Recently, her physician told her what she had already suspected-she was in the end stages. Which option for end-of-life care is Margaret most likely to choose?

A) hospitalization
B) outpatient hospice
C) inpatient hospice
D) nursing home

Question 29

Understanding that death cannot be undone is the definition of ______.

A) nonfunctionality
B) irreversibility
C) noncorporeal continuation
D) biological causality

Question 30

Which document is an advance directive?

A) estate will
B) medical prescription
C) living will
D) suicide note

Question 31

Where do most deaths occur today?

A) workplace
B) schools
C) home
D) hospitals

Question 32

Carol is in end-stage renal cancer. She is in extreme pain and feels that her quality of life has diminished to the point that she is thinking about asking for an extremely large dose of pain medication. What course of action does it seem Carol is considering?

A) physician-assisted suicide
B) passive euthanasia
C) active euthanasia
D) hospice care

Question 33

In which state is physician-assisted suicide legal?

A) New York
B) Oregon
C) New Mexico
D) Connecticut

Question 34

Treatment focusing on controlling pain and related symptoms is called ______.

A) alternative
B) palliative
C) analgesic
D) proactive

Question 35

Which person would be part of the hospice patient care team?

A) insurance representative
B) parent
C) lawyer
D) spiritual counselor

Question 36

Understanding that death entails the end of all life-defining abilities is the definition of ______.

A) nonfunctionality
B) irreversibility
C) noncorporeal continuation
D) biological causality

Question 37

What percentage of U.S. adults have written advance directives?

A) 10%
B) 15%
C) 25%
D) 30%

Question 38

The term mate to refer to the very old, the very sick, and the dead is used by the ______.

A) Hopi Indians
B) Apache Indians
C) Melanesians
D) Polynesians

Question 39

Understanding that death universal is the definition of ______.

A) nonfunctionality
B) noncorporeal continuation
C) inevitability
D) biological causality

Question 40

Carl's belief that he will see his wife again in heaven is an example of ______.

A) biological causality
B) noncorporeal continuation
C) dying trajectory
D) cultural ritualism

Question 41

A parent is most likely to discuss death with a young child when the child has ______.

A) experienced death of some kind
B) seen death in a movie
C) read about death in a book
D) heard about death from a peer

Question 42

Children are able to truly understand death when they have developed cognitive capacities for ______.

A) sadness
B) empathy
C) sophisticated language
D) abstract thinking

Question 43

The risk-taking behavior characteristic of adolescence is a form of ______.

A) cheating death
B) acknowledging death
C) mimicking death
D) wanting death

Question 44

Which child is most likely to understand death in spiritual terms along with biological irreversibility?

A) a young child being raised in Native American culture
B) a young child being raised in Jewish culture
C) an adolescent being raised in an atheist household in Western culture
D) an adolescent being raised in a religious household in Western culture

Question 45

Who is most likely to view the death as sleeping?

A) Joe, who is 15 and just lost his best friend to a drug overdose
B) Maisie, who is 10 and just heard that her grandmother has had a stroke
C) Miguel, who is 7 and watched his mother die from complications of lupus
D) Jessica, who is 3 and has been told that a beloved cousin drowned

Question 46

Which child most likely has the greatest awareness of death?

A) Jacob, who is 8 years old and has asthma.
B) Drake, who is 7 years old and psoriasis.
C) Tiffany, who is 6 years old and has terminal bone cancer.
D) Bella, who is 9 years old and catches the flu annually.

Question 47

Parents of young children who believe that the children are incapable of coping with death tend to ______.

A) avoid talking about it with them
B) talk excessively about it with them
C) talk in hushed tones about it
D) have others talk about it

Question 48

Which age group tends to think of death as a state of nothingness that goes along with biological irreversibility?

A) young children
B) adolescents
C) young adults
D) midlife adults

Question 49

Children who tend to have much experience with death are those who live in ______.

A) multi-ethnic communities
B) drought-stricken areas
C) war-torn areas
D) affluent countries

Question 50

Children who have the most advanced and realistic understanding of death are those who ______.

A) watch violent television shows
B) have personal experience with it
C) play death-related video games
D) have heard about it from their peers

Question 51

Acknowledging personal vulnerability typically begins in which age group?

A) children
B) adolescents
C) young adults
D) midlife adults

Question 52

Which cultural group celebrates día de los muertos?

A) Peruvian
B) Hopi Indian
C) Mexican
D) Navajo Indian

Question 53

The understanding that death is final, irreversible, and inevitable typically emerges in what age range?

A) 3-5 years
B) 5-7 years
C) 7-9 years
D) 9-11 years

Question 54

The most complex element of the death concept and the last one to be acquired is ______.

A) biological causality
B) contextual reference
C) cultural ritualism
D) parental influence

Question 55

Understanding that death is due to events or conditions that trigger natural processes within the body is the definition of ______.

A) nonfunctionality
B) noncorporeal continuation
C) inevitability
D) biological causality

Question 56

In which region do the deceased's neighbors wash the body with rum?

A) Peru
B) French West Indies
C) South Korea
D) Middle East

Question 57

Awareness of death often causes midlife adults to ______.

A) increase risky behavior
B) avoid intimate relationships
C) make earning a living a priority
D) reevaluate priorities

Question 58

Often a child's first significant experience with death is the demise of a ______.

A) grandparent
B) pet
C) sibling
D) friend

Question 59

Which spiritual group believes that a good death is a holy death, one that is welcomed by the dying person?

A) Christians
B) Jews
C) Buddhists
D) Hindus

Question 60

Which child is most likely to have a realistic view of death?

A) an 8-year-old living in war-torn Afghanistan
B) a 9-year-old in the United States whose parents are still living
C) a 6-year-old in England whose parents are divorced
D) a 3-year-old living in a refugee camp in Somalia

Question 61

What does cachexia mean?

A) bloating and diarrhea
B) disorientation and hallucinations
C) disrupted bowel function
D) loss of muscle mass

Question 62

Children are less likely to develop a clear understanding of their imminent death because ______.

A) they usually are unable to grasp the concept
B) immaturity makes it difficult to talk to them
C) their parents often have little understanding of the process
D) physicians and the parents find it difficult to talk about

Question 63

Older adults may have reduced anxiety about their deaths because they ______.

A) have become desensitized to loss
B) are able to manage negative emotions
C) prefer to engage in risky behaviors
D) prefer it to continuing life

Question 64

An example of short-term expected death is one due to ______.

A) cancer
B) lupus
C) car accident
D) old age

Question 65

Which person will most likely experience an expected lingering death?

A) Jeremiah, who is 16 and experimenting with hard drugs
B) Suzette, who is 46 and has had lupus since she was 23
C) Todd, who is 35 and smokes two packs of cigarettes a day
D) Mary, who is 79 and seems to grow frailer each day

Question 66

Which age group tends to spend more time thinking about the process and circumstances of dying than the actual state of death?

A) older adults
B) midlife adults
C) prosperous adults
D) impoverished adults

Question 67

Which type of death is the most likely to be experienced in hospice care?

A) abrupt-surprise
B) short-term expected
C) entry-reentry
D) expected lingering

Question 68

Lingering and entry-reentry deaths usually involve hospice care only when death is imminent because they ______.

A) occur suddenly
B) usually involve children
C) are prolonged
D) require little medical care

Question 69

David has a brain tumor that is inoperable. He has said that he would promise to be a better person if he could survive. He begs to be allowed to live long enough to see Alaska and the northern lights. Which stage of processing death is he experiencing?

A) denial
B) anger
C) bargaining
D) depression

Question 70

Which child is indicating awareness that death is imminent?

A) Tobey, who says that he is going to miss going to school
B) Levi, who says that he is tired of being sick
C) Mandie, who says that she wishes more of her friends would visit
D) Carly, who says that she has never felt this bad before

Question 71

Death occurs approximately how many hours after the onset of the death rattle?

A) 10
B) 16
C) 24
D) 30

Question 72

Maureen has received a terminal diagnosis of lung cancer. She has been asking herself, "Why me?" and is upset at the doctors, and her spouse who smoked, exposing her to secondhand smoke. She feels cheated and robbed out of life and time she would have been able to spend with her grandchildren. Which stage of processing death is she experiencing?

A) denial
B) anger
C) bargaining
D) depression

Question 73

An infant may be more at risk of sudden infant death syndrome if he or she ______.

A) sleeps only in a crib
B) sleeps on the back
C) is older than 5 months
D) is exposed to tobacco smoke

Question 74

What is the leading cause of death of infants under 1 year of age?

A) pneumonia
B) SIDS
C) leukemia
D) AIDS

Question 75

What is the most likely way a child may come to realize he or she is dying?

A) watching violent movies
B) listening to older siblings talk
C) visiting with healthy peers
D) experiencing disease and its treatments

Question 76

Which infant has the lowest risk of sudden infant death syndrome?

A) Isabelle, who is routinely placed on her back to sleep
B) Tariq, who is routinely placed on his stomach to sleep
C) Ethan, who has soft bedding in his crib
D) Dani, who sleeps in the bed with her parents

Question 77

A dying person who has lost faith in his or her physician and seeks a second or third opinion is most likely in which stage of processing death?

A) denial
B) anger
C) bargaining
D) depression

Question 78

When a person shares with others his or her feelings about dying, it signals the stage of processing death called ______.

A) bargaining
B) acceptance
C) depression
D) anger

Question 79

A dying person feels guilt over the illness and its consequences for his or her loved ones. What stage of processing death is he or she is in?

A) bargaining
B) acceptance
C) depression
D) anger

Question 80

Which characteristic is a typical symptom that the dying person experiences shortly before death?

A) weight gain
B) diminished sleep
C) confusion
D) restlessness