Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-l7hp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T22:30:35.159Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An evaluation of the mourning tradition, the “First Feast,” in the context of palliative care: The possibility of incorporating cultural rituals into palliative care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2019

İsmail Okan ,
Mustafa Suren ,
Yalcin Onder ,
Riza Citil ,
Secil Akay  and
Tugce Demir
İsmail Okan*
Affiliation:
Surgical Oncology Section, Department of General Surgery, Medical Faculty, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey
Mustafa Suren
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Medical Faculty, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey
Yalcin Onder
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, Medical Faculty, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey
Riza Citil
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, Medical Faculty, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey
Secil Akay
Affiliation:
Medical Faculty, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey
Tugce Demir
Affiliation:
Medical Faculty, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey
*
Author for correspondence: İsmail Okan, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of General Surgery, Medical Faculty, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective

Grief is intertwined with cultural and religious rituals that are highly appreciated in the quality standards of palliative care. Here, we aimed to investigate whether a cultural mourning ritual, the “First Feast,” can be used by palliative care teams to ease the grief response of the deceased patient's relatives.

Method

A questionnaire with 23 questions about the prevalence of the First Feast tradition, the content, the pros and cons, and whether it would be useful for the grieving relatives of deceased patients was prepared and given to the palliative care patients’ relatives. The data were evaluated using the chi-square test.

Result

A total of 427 participants were enrolled in the study; 60.7% were female and the mean age was 36 (±13.4). A total of 76.8% of the participants were from the Tokat region and 77.8% (n = 332) performed the First Feast tradition. A significant difference was observed among participants with Tokat origins and non-Tokat origins in terms of awareness of the tradition (84.8% and 69.7%, respectively; p = 0.001). Ninety-one percent of the participants acknowledged that the tradition helped to ease the grief response of the relatives.

Significance of results

The First Feast, a mourning tradition performed in Tokat and other parts of Turkey, might be a useful auxiliary method for palliative care teams to help grieving families.

Keywords

After DeathCulturethe First FeastGriefMourningPalliative care
Type
Original Article
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 17 , Issue 4 , August 2019 , pp. 453 - 458
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bruce, CA (2007) Helping patients, families, caregivers, and physicians, in the grieving process. Journal of the American Osteopathic Association 107(12 Suppl 7), ES33–ES40.Google Scholar
Bryant, RA (2012) Grief as a psychiatric disorder. British Journal of Psychiatry 201(1), 9.Google Scholar
Bui, E, Horenstein, A, Shah, R, et al. (2015) Grief-related panic symptoms in complicated grief. Journal of Affective Disorders 170, 213–216.Google Scholar
National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care (2013) Clinical practice guidelines for quality palliative care 3rd ed. Pittsburgh, PA.Google Scholar
Groot-Alberts, L (2012) The lament of a broken heart: Mourning and grieving in different cultures. How acceptance of difference creates a bridge for healing and hope. Progress in Palliative Care 20, 158–162.Google Scholar
Kersting, A, Brähler, E, Glaesmer, H, et al. (2011) Prevalence of complicated grief in a representative population-based sample. Journal of Affective Disorders 131, 339–343.Google Scholar
Levendoğlu, MF. (2006) Cultural identity in the case of Küresinliler (socio-cultural of Küresinliler). Master's thesis. [Küresinliler örneğinde kültürel kimlik (Küresinliler'in sosyo-kültürel yapısı). Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Ankara Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Antropoloji (Sosyal Antropoloji) Anabilim Dalı, Ankara.Google Scholar
Lobb, EA, Kristjanson, LJ, Aoun, SM, et al. (2010) Predictors of complicated grief: A systematic review of empirical studies. Death Studies 34, 673–698.Google Scholar
Meert, KL, Donaldson, AE, Newth, CJ, et al. (2010) Complicated grief and associated risk factors among parents following a child's death in the pediatric intensive care unit. Archives of Pediatric Adolescent Medicine 164, 1045–1051.Google Scholar
Shear, MK, Simon, N, Wall, M, et al. (2011) Complicated grief and related bereavement issues for DSM-5. Depression and Anxiety 28, 103–107.Google Scholar
Sheldon, F (1998) ABC of palliative care. Bereavement. British Medical Journal 316, 456–458.Google Scholar
Simon, NM, Shear, KM, Thompson, EH, et al. (2007) The prevalence and correlates of psychiatric comorbidity in individuals with complicated grief. Comprehensive Psychiatry 48, 395–399.Google Scholar
Simon, NM (2013) Treating complicated grief. Journal of the American Medical Association 310, 416–423.Google Scholar
Suren, M, Okan, I, Kaya, Z, et al. (2014) Initial experience with delivery of palliative care to terminal cancer patients. Turkish Journal of Medical Science 46, 388–392.Google Scholar
Wikan, U (1988) Bereavement and loss in two Muslim communities: Egypt and Bali compared. Social Science & Medicine 27, 451–460.Google Scholar