Attitudes of Chinese Elderly People towards Death: Practical Implications for Social Workers

Abstract

The proportion of elderly people among the Chinese populations of East Asia is growing rapidly, and social workers are increasingly involved in services to these elderly folk. But attitudes of the Chinese elderly towards death have received almost no attention. This exploratory study documents the attitudes of some Chinese elderly people with different religious beliefs towards death and dying. Religious belief was found to have little impact on death anxiety. Chinese elderly people mainly fear the dying process and becoming an unwanted burden to care-givers. However, they are more willing to talk about and prepare for death than is generally recognized.