Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Dying Alone And Lonely Dying: Media Discourse And Pandemic Conditions, Holly Nelson-Becker, Christina Victor

Social Work: School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Other Works

Background and objectives: This paper explores current concerns and practice related to older people dying alone in Intensive Care Units, care homes, and at home through media discussions during the Covid-19 pandemic and before. It addresses the historically-situated concept of a good death and a bad death and suggests why dying alone, whether completely alone or without significant others physically present, may be considered a bad death.

Methods: As evidence for collective fears about dying alone, we explored the treatment of these deaths in media using headline examples from the US New York Times and the English Guardian newspaper from …