Abstract

VON HOHENDORFF, Jean  and  MELO, Wilson Vieira de. Understanding death and human development: contributions to Hospital Psychology. Estud. pesqui. psicol. [online]. 2009, vol.9, n.2. ISSN 1808-4281.

This study presents a theoretical revision of the way in which death is understood at different stages of the cycle of life, with view to contribute to hospital psychology work.  In order to construct this research, articles in the Portuguese language were consulted as well as other works by eminent authors.  From this study it was possible to observe that death is understood in a distinct way during the phases of life, being influenced by factors such as culture, information and experiences of the situation.  The authors propose that the understanding of death can be seen in a continuum.  Furthermore, a table in which were included the main aspects of death understanding is presented to facilitate the comprehension of the results of this study.

Keywords : Death; Human development; Hospital psychology.

        · abstract in Portuguese     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )