Deck 13: Death, Dying, Bereavement, and Widowhood

Question 1

Widowed men are more likely than widowed women to:

A) complain of loneliness and make a slower emotional recovery.
B) experience a decline in mental health, morale, and social functioning.
C) experience problems with financial management.
D) both A and B.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Regarding the loss of a spouse:

A) rates of psychological distress are far more frequent among women.
B) grief appears to be more intense when the spousal relationships was unhappy.
C) white women experience it more than women of color.
D) non-white women experience it earlier than their white counterparts.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

An individual who is appointed by the courts to care for another individual's property, finances, housing, and medical treatment is called a:

A) conservator.
B) guardian.
C) surrogate decision maker.
D) none of the above .

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Concerning life following the loss of one's spouse,:

A) older widowed men are more likely to remarry than older widowed women.
B) older widowed women generally move in with a daughter.
C) older widows call on an expanded circle of friends to care for them.
D) younger widows experience more long-lasting grief reactions than do older women.

Question 5

If a patient is unable to make decisions about his/her medical care, the authorization for someone to act on behalf of that person is provided by the:

A) living will.
B) surrogate decision makers statute.
C) durable power of attorney.
D) medical power of attorney.

Question 6

Grief and mourning are distinguished by the fact that:

A) "grief" refers to psychological and emotional responses to the death of a loved one.
B) "mourning" refers to individual differences in how grief is expressed.
C) the grief process is usually culturally prescribed; mourning is not.
D) grieving goes through specific, predictable stages.

Question 7

Regarding the death of siblings,:

A) many social supports exist for the bereaved siblings.
B) sibling bonds often don't last as long as other family relationships.
C) research on the effects of sibling death to the older person is limited.
D) none of the above.

Question 8

The authorization for someone to act on behalf of an incapacitated individual with regard to property and financial matters is provided by the:

A) living will.
B) durable power of attorney.
C) surrogate decision makers statute.
D) medical power of attorney.

Question 9

Mourning rituals:

A) are influenced by culture.
B) assist with individual expressions of grief.
C) focus on traditional funeral ceremonies.
D) are unique to traditional societies.

Question 10

Concerning assisted suicide,:

A) several states such as Alaska, California, and Maine have recently legalized it.
B) the U.S. Supreme Court forbids physicians from prescribing pain-relievers to dying patients.
C) the U.S. Supreme Court has explicitly endorsed sedation for the terminally ill.
D) it is illegal in all 50 states.

Question 11

Regarding widowhood and social supports,:

A) more than 20 percent report that they don't have strong social supports .
B) women are more likely than men to use social supports for coping.
C) friendships made during the marital relationship are important sources of support during widowhood.
D) Latina and Asian American widows are less likely to have active support systems than whites.

Question 12

Palliative care refers to:

A) using life saving care techniques.
B) the relief of pain and physical symptoms.
C) relating to the patient in a very polite manner.
D) treating the disease aggressively to eradicate it.

Question 13

Widowed women are more likely than widowed men to:

A) remarry.
B) experience problems with social supports.
C) generally experience more financial hardships.
D) experience reciprocal relationships with all their children and friends.

Question 14

An individual who is appointed by the courts to care for another individual's property and finances because that person can no longer do so is called a:

A) conservator.
B) guardian.
C) surrogate decision maker.
D) none of the above.

Question 15

Hospice care:

A) uses experimental drugs that can cure a very ill person.
B) provides care and support to both the patient and the family.
C) represents a philosophy on how to deal with dying patients.
D) both B and C.

Question 16

A document written by an individual about his/her wishes about medical treatment is a:

A) living will.
B) durable power of attorney.
C) medical power of attorney.
D) conservatorship.

Question 17

With regard to grief and bereavement,:

A) "anticipatory grief" generally reduces the intensity of the grief process after death.
B) many people never fully cease grieving.
C) older people experience grief more easily than young people.
D) the bereaved experiences more distress if a partner dies at home.

Question 18

The dying person's bill of rights is best explained as:

A) the right to receive all necessary treatment.
B) the right to die without pain and with dignity.
C) the right to get the latest life sustaining technology.
D) the right to designate a helper for active euthanasia.

Question 19

The "Death With Dignity Law" in the state of Oregon:

A) requires the physician to inform the patient of feasible alternatives.
B) allows doctors to help patients within 2 days of a request for assisted suicide.
C) allows family members to assist in the suicide of a dying patient.
D) has resulted in higher rates of illegal use of barbiturates in that state.

Question 20

The state of Oregon:

A) has the highest in-hospital death rate of any state.
B) has fewer referrals to hospices than other states.
C) has established strict barriers to prescribing narcotics for terminally ill patients.
D) has passed the Intractable Pain Act to ease restrictions on pain control.

Question 21

Older adults fear the dying process rather than death itself.

Question 22

Younger and older widows generally experience similar grief processes.

Question 23

The five stage model of dying was developed by:

A) Elizabeth Kubler-Ross.
B) Compassion in Dying.
C) the state of Oregon.
D) Cicely Saunders.

Question 24

Most families and their older relatives have not discussed whether or not to utilize life-saving technologies.

Question 25

"Palliative care" refers to efforts to keep someone alive as long as possible.

Question 26

The Patient Self-Determination Act requires patients receiving care in a Medicare-funded facility to complete an advance directive.

Question 27

A dying person must advance through all the stages identified by Kubler-Ross in order to have a "good death."

Question 28

Advocates of the right to die frequently use the term "hastened death."

Question 29

Today, approximately ________ of all deaths occur in institutions where aggressive treatment is common and with only a few friends and family present.

A) 25 percent
B) 50 percent
C) 80 percent
D) 95 percent

Question 30

Grief is always less when death is not sudden and survivors have been able to anticipate it and prepare for changes.

Question 31

Living wills are an example of advance directives.

Question 32

The majority of older adults have completed living wills.

Question 33

Public and professional acceptance of physician-assisted suicide is increasing in general, although still opposed by the American Medical Association.

Question 34

Withholding or withdrawing unwanted medical treatment for patients close to death is both legal and ethical.

Question 35

The grief process follows certain stages that mourners must complete to resolve their grief.

Question 36

The Hemlock Society was organized to prevent the legalization of assisted suicide.

Question 37

A "good death" is characterized by:

A) adequate control of pain.
B) choice about where death occurs.
C) adequate time to say goodbye.
D) all of the above.

Question 38

Hospice care is only available in a patient's home.

Question 39

Which of the following is not one of the five stages of dying?

A) shock and denial
B) anger
C) happiness
D) acceptance

Question 40

"The right to die" refers to dying with dignity, without pain, and in accordance with one's wishes.

Question 41

Thoroughly discuss Elizabeth Kubler-Ross' five stages of dying and how has its application changed.

Question 42

Explain the six-R process of mourning.

Question 43

________ is not a "place," but a philosophy of, and approach to, care that is offered primarily in the home, but also in hospital and nursing home settings.

Question 44

Present the arguments in favor of and against active euthanasia.

Question 45

The first formal hospice in the world start was ________.

Question 46

The federal law ________ requires health care facilities that receive Medicaid and Medicare funds to inform patients, in writing, of their rights to execute advance directives regarding how they want to live or die.

Question 47

List the legal option an individual would want to consider when making end-of-life care decisions.

Question 48

Expected death allows survivors to prepare for the death of a friend or loved one through ________.

Question 49

In ________, treatment is withdrawn, and nothing is done to prolong the patient's life artificially, such as use of a feeding tube or ventilator.

Question 50

Discuss the features of hospice and its history.