How feasible is caring for the deceased at home in the UK, and to what extent does this help bereaved families?

该研究将探讨在家中照顾死者尸体的好处和挑战，以及这在多大程度上有助于（或阻碍）失去亲人的个人，家庭和社区接受死亡及其悲伤经历。该项目扩展了巴斯大学死亡与社会中心成员所做的工作，包括在老年时在家死亡的工作，旨在为自然死亡运动和“死亡积极”运动的社会政治发展做出贡献，这些运动正在重新想象死亡的各个方面。这项研究有可能使社会更好地理解在家中照顾死者的做法，从而改变人们的态度、社会、文化或政策，改善丧亲之痛的人的经历。直到150年前，在维多利亚时代的医院、太平间和现代殡仪馆出现之前，人们在家中去世，尸体一直留在那里直到埋葬的那一天，这是司空见惯的。现在，大多数人死在一个机构（无论是医院，护理之家或临终关怀），而对于那些死在家里的绝大多数人被转移到太平间设施冷藏之前，他们的火化或埋葬。人们对死者死后在家中照料或在机构中死后让他们回家可能带来的潜在好处知之甚少。先前的研究发现，观看（并可能抱着）一个死胎可以改善母亲的幸福感（Radestad等人，2009）可以说，与已故成年人共度时光对丧亲之痛有类似的好处。有证据表明，花时间与死者在一起，让死亡的现实和结局沉入其中。在家中照顾死者的可行性如何，这在多大程度上帮助了丧亲家庭？2.在多大程度上花时间在死者的身体上会影响死者对自己死亡的感知或他们丧亲之痛的体验？3.在成本、医疗保健/临终关怀、工作人员合作和国家/地方临终关怀政策方面，在家照顾尸体的可行性如何？该项目将采用半结构化访谈的方式进行，重点是在家中照顾已故家庭成员的丧亲家庭的经历，并将采用专题分析进行分析。除了访谈之外，还将向参与死后尸体护理的专业人员发放一份全面的问卷，以收集有关以下方面的信息：对在家中护理尸体的做法（以及任何相关政策）的认识、他们帮助促进这一做法的意愿、任何感知到的障碍以及他们是否在实践中经历过这一做法。

The study will explore the benefits and challenges of caring for a deceased person's body at home, and the extent to which this helps (or hinders) bereaved individuals, families and communities in coming to terms with the death and their grief experience. Extending work undertaken by members of the University of Bath's Centre for Death and Society, including work on dying at home in old age, the project seeks to contribute to the socio-political development of the natural death movement and 'death positive' movement that are reimagining all aspects of death and dying across the UK. The study has the potential to lead to better societal understanding of caring for the deceased at home leading to attitudinal, social, cultural or policy changes, and improved experiences for people who have suffered a bereavement.The project stems from the decline in caring for, or even locating, people in their homes after they have died. Until 150 years ago, before the advent of Victorian hospitals, mortuaries and the modern day funeral director, it was commonplace for people to die at home and for their body to remain there until the day of its burial. Now, most people die in an institution (either a hospital, care home or hospice), and for those that do die at home the vast majority are transferred to a mortuary facility for cold storage before their cremation or burial. Very little is known about the potential benefit that may be derived from caring for the deceased at home after they have died, or having them 'return home after their death in an institution. Previous research has found that viewing (and potentially holding) a stillborn baby can improve the wellbeing of the mother (Radestad et al, 2009) arguably similar benefits to the bereaved could be found in spending time with a deceased adult. Anectotal evidence points to spending time with the deceased allowing the reality and finality of the death to sink in.Key research questions in this project will include:1. How feasible is caring for the deceased at home, and to what extent does this help bereaved families?2. To what extent does spending time with the body after a death effect bereaved individuals' perception of their own mortality or their experience of bereavement?3. What is the feasibility of caring for bodies at home in terms of costs, healthcare/deathcare, staff cooperation, and national/local policy on end of life care?The project will be conducted using semi-structured interviews focusing on the experiences of bereaved families who have cared for a deceased family member at home and will be analysed using thematic analysis. The interviews will be complemented by a comprehensive questionnaire to professionals involved in the care of the body after death which will gather information on awareness of the practice of caring for the body at home (and any relevant policy), their willingness to help facilitate it, any perceived barriers and whether they have experienced it in practice.