Death Bouncers” and “Spiritual Guides”
How End-of-Life Doulas Provide, Frame, and Navigate Spirituality and Spiritual Care
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13629350 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sarah Donley (0000-0002-5162-2630, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL, USA, corresponding author), Casey Fannin (Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL, USA) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Pages | 302228241274969-302228241274969 |
| Publication date | 2024-09-07 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0030-2228 • E-ISSN: 1541-3764 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00302228241274969 |
| PMID | 39243142 |
| OpenAlex | W4402334678 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 29 |
The medicalization of death has left gaps in the spiritual and psychosocial well-being of the dying. Factors like professional and caregiver burnout, lack of training, overburdened caseloads and rigid schedules, and other organizational constraints lead to holistic, humane care falling through the cracks. Consequently, the dying and their families are opting to rely on individuals who can bridge these gaps-end-of-life (EOL) doulas. EOL doulas employ a variety of non-medical practices from touch therapies to legacy projects to religious rites that provide support covering the emotional, spiritual, and practical aspects of dying. Utilizing qualitative interviews with 23 EOL doulas located and working in the United States, this research offers insights into doulas' provisions of spiritual care, how death doulas' understanding of the death transition inform spiritual care provisions, as well as how death doulas navigate differences in spiritual and religious belief systems between themselves and their clients. The study emphasizes the critical role of EOL doulas in bridging gaps in end-of-life care, providing personalized, compassionate support sometimes missing in institutional settings
Aesthetics · Alternative medicine · Art · Frame (networking · Sociology · Spiritual care · Spirituality · Telecommunications · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Engineering · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Medicine · Psychology · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
Basics of qualitative research
A Ministry of Presence
Spiritual care in nursing
The Role of Spirituality in Health Care
Religiosity, the need for structure, death attitudes, and funeral preferences
Gender and Legitimacy in Personal Service Occupations
Death and the search for meaning
What role do Death Doulas play in end‐of‐life care? A systematic review
Spirituality and the Care of Patients at the End-of-Life
End-of-Life Doulas
Death Positivity in America
New Faces at the Bedside
Dying a ‘Good’ Death
Neoliberalism, individual responsibilization and the death positivity movement
The voices of death doulas about their role in end‐of‐life care
End‐of‐life doulas
The Overtaking of Undertaking
Re-Feminizing Death
Demonstrating Rigor Using Thematic Analysis
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |