TY - JOUR
T1 - Burial or cremation? Factors associated with preferences among patients with cancer in Brazil
T2 - a cross-sectional study
AU - Paiva, Bianca Sakamoto Ribeiro
AU - Lourenço, Bruna Minto
AU - Prata, Henrique Moraes
AU - de Oliveira Valentino, Talita Caroline
AU - de Oliveira, Marco Antonio
AU - Dos Santos Neto, Martins Fideles
AU - Bruera, Eduardo
AU - Paiva, Carlos Eduardo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, Associacao Paulista de Medicina. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - BACKGROUND: People living with life-limiting illnesses and their family caregivers consistently em-phasize the importance of preparing for imminent death, with planned funerals being a common aspect of this preparation. Few studies have described the funeral rituals or post-mortem preferences of patients with cancer. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the percentage of patients with cancer who wish to be cremated and to identify the factors associated with this preference. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional study conducted at Barretos Cancer Hospital. METHODS: A total of 220 patients with cancer completed a Sociodemographic and Clinical Question-naire, the Duke University Religiosity Index, and burial or cremation preferences. Binary Logistic Regression was performed to identify independent variables associated with cremation. RESULTS: Of the 220 patients, 25.0% preferred cremation and 71.4% preferred burial. Talks about death with family or close friends in their daily life (odds ratio, OR = 2.89; P = 0.021), patients that answered “other” (unsure, tends not be true and not true) for religious beliefs are what really lie behind my whole approach to life (OR = 20.34; P = 0.005), and education 9 to 11 years (OR = 3.15; P = 0.019) or ≥ 12 years (OR = 3.18; P = 0.024) were associated with cremation preference. CONCLUSION: Most patients with Cancer in Brazil prefer burial after death. Discussions about death, religious beliefs and involvement, and educational level seem to influence the preference for cremation. A deeper understanding of ritual funeral preferences and their associated factors may guide policies, ser-vices, and health teams in promoting the quality of dying and death.
AB - BACKGROUND: People living with life-limiting illnesses and their family caregivers consistently em-phasize the importance of preparing for imminent death, with planned funerals being a common aspect of this preparation. Few studies have described the funeral rituals or post-mortem preferences of patients with cancer. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the percentage of patients with cancer who wish to be cremated and to identify the factors associated with this preference. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-sectional study conducted at Barretos Cancer Hospital. METHODS: A total of 220 patients with cancer completed a Sociodemographic and Clinical Question-naire, the Duke University Religiosity Index, and burial or cremation preferences. Binary Logistic Regression was performed to identify independent variables associated with cremation. RESULTS: Of the 220 patients, 25.0% preferred cremation and 71.4% preferred burial. Talks about death with family or close friends in their daily life (odds ratio, OR = 2.89; P = 0.021), patients that answered “other” (unsure, tends not be true and not true) for religious beliefs are what really lie behind my whole approach to life (OR = 20.34; P = 0.005), and education 9 to 11 years (OR = 3.15; P = 0.019) or ≥ 12 years (OR = 3.18; P = 0.024) were associated with cremation preference. CONCLUSION: Most patients with Cancer in Brazil prefer burial after death. Discussions about death, religious beliefs and involvement, and educational level seem to influence the preference for cremation. A deeper understanding of ritual funeral preferences and their associated factors may guide policies, ser-vices, and health teams in promoting the quality of dying and death.
KW - Burial
KW - Cremation
KW - Death
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U2 - 10.1590/1516-3180.2022.0441.R1.13022023
DO - 10.1590/1516-3180.2022.0441.R1.13022023
M3 - Article
C2 - 37194763
AN - SCOPUS:85159419378
SN - 1516-3180
VL - 141
JO - Sao Paulo Medical Journal
JF - Sao Paulo Medical Journal
IS - 6
M1 - e2022441
ER -