Caswell, Glenys; O'Connor, Mórna
This paper reports findings from a study which explored ways of investigating individuals' perspectives on dying alone at home. For the older people, the idea of dying alone was less problematic than the idea of needing care and support from others, and the perceived loss of independence that this would entail. The nurses would prefer no one to die alone, but believed they had seen patients managing their own dying so that they could be alone at the moment of death. The paper suggests that dying alone may be a problem for survivors, rather than for the person who is dying.