Positive Aging and Death or Dying: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background and objectives: This scoping review aims to examine the extent and the manner in which research that utilizes successful, active, productive, and healthy aging framework(s) includes death or dying.

Research design and methods: An examination of peer-reviewed academic journal articles was conducted following Joanna Briggs Institute's methodological standards for scoping reviews and conforming to Arskey and O'Malley's 5-stage framework. The initial search resulted in 1,759 articles for review, and following the rigorous screening, 35 studies were included for the final review. A qualitative thematic analysis was used to identify how research utilizes the concepts of death and dying in the context of 4 positive aging models.

Results: The core themes identified include (a) the absence of death and dying dimensions in positive aging models; (b) older adults' outlooks on death and dying while aging well; (c) religious and spiritual dimensions of aging well; (d) negative consequences of positive aging models without death and dying dimensions; and (e) the future of death and dying in positive aging models.

Discussion and implications: The review delivers a critique by researchers on the noticeable absence of death and dying processes within the framework of successful, active, productive, and healthy aging models. These findings represent a rich opportunity for future research on these concepts.

Keywords: Death anxiety; Death conversations; Death taboo; Good death.