There are often religious and cultural considerations when caring for someone after death.

No two cultural or religious groups are exactly the same, and there are often different factions or sectors that have their own requirements. Consulting family and friends and caring for the deceased as an individual in a culturally sensitive way should be considered best practice. 

If the family inform you about any religious or cultural needs its important to share these with the team and document them as wishes if possible. This can help the family, as this means they won't need to tell all the different staff.

Nurses need to be aware that any person may have preferences for care after death that may not relate to religious or cultural needs. 

Resources

• Palliative Care Australia has made available the Multicultural palliative care guidelines which has useful information
• The Migrant Information Centre and Eastern Palliative care (Melbourne) have a resources: Palliative care for culturally and linguistically diverse communities which includes care after death
• The American Association of Professional Chaplains has ‘A quick guide to cultures and spiritual traditions’ which includes a learning module. 2000.
• Speck P. ‘Spiritual/religious issues in care of the dying’ In: Ellershaw JE, Wilkinson S, editors. Care of the Dying: a pathway to excellence. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2003. p90-105.

Related CareSearch Pages

Nurses Hub
Communication
Working with Families

PubMed Topic Search
Multicultural (Could be used to identify issues of relevance)

Free Full Text Article  

Maddocks I. Rayner R. Issues in Palliative care for Indigenous Communities. Med J Aust. 2003 Sep 15;179(6 Suppl):S17-9.

Lickiss JN. Approaching death in Multicultural Australia. Med J Aust. 2003 Sep 15;179(6 Suppl):S14-6.

References

• Boussarsar M, Bouchoucha S. Dying at home: cultural and religious preferences. Intensive Care Med. 2006 Nov;32(11):1917-8. Epub 2006 Sep 22.
• Dimond B. Disposal and preparation of the body: different religious practices. Br J Nurs. 2004 May 13-26;13(9):547-9.
• Clements PT, Vigil GJ, Manno MS, Henry GC, Wilks J, Das Sarthak, et al. Cultural perspectives of death, grief, and bereavement. J Psychosoc Nurs Ment Health Serv. 2003 Jul;41(7):18-26. 

Last updated 27 August 2010*