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O-2  Do spiritual beliefs influence coping mechanisms in dealing with death and dying?
  1. Shelley Lamprell-Josephs1,1
  1. 1Solace of Souls Care and Training, Snettisham, UK
  2. 2The Norfolk Hospice

Abstract

This study aims to discover whether there may be a definable value in attempting to measure life purpose and spirituality as a means of coping with end-of-life issues. Does ‘organised’ religion and spirituality impact upon human beings’ capacity to cope with ultimate life issues such as death and dying? In an endeavour to investigate a particularly challenging phenomenon, this study was developed using the Grounded Theory approach. This approach was designed to develop important theoretical concepts from basic needs awareness. This study was designed as an attempt to peek behind the scenes of individual metaphysical and existential awareness. It provided a powerful opportunity to access notoriously inaccessible information from human consciousness. Applying a mixed method, each participant was given a questionnaire to complete, and a number of them were also interviewed. This provided the opportunity to expand upon a selection of responses to the questions presented.

Analysis of this study offers a unique insight into the personal thoughts and beliefs of individuals, faced with the expression of their intimate views on sensitive existential issues. The study has been developed using a non-partisan approach to spirituality and religion. Results, measuring a majority of 12 out of 14 participants, suggest that a variety of beliefs in spirituality and life purpose offer a form of existential acceptance and solace. This ground-breaking research focuses on not solely one religious or spiritual approach, but a significantly diverse range of views. The data highlight a new theoretical definition for human understanding, the Primary Existential Design (PED), which offers reasoning for individual perception of ultimate life and death issues. There is also compelling evidence of further understanding related to the phenomenological mystery of human consciousness.

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work noncommercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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