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An evaluation of the mourning tradition, the “First Feast,” in the context of palliative care: The possibility of incorporating cultural rituals into palliative care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2019

İsmail Okan ,
Mustafa Suren ,
Yalcin Onder ,
Riza Citil ,
Secil Akay  and
Tugce Demir
İsmail Okan*
Affiliation:
Surgical Oncology Section, Department of General Surgery, Medical Faculty, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey
Mustafa Suren
Affiliation:
Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation, Medical Faculty, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey
Yalcin Onder
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, Medical Faculty, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey
Riza Citil
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health, Medical Faculty, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey
Secil Akay
Affiliation:
Medical Faculty, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey
Tugce Demir
Affiliation:
Medical Faculty, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey
*
Author for correspondence: İsmail Okan, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of General Surgery, Medical Faculty, Gaziosmanpasa University, Tokat, Turkey. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Objective

Grief is intertwined with cultural and religious rituals that are highly appreciated in the quality standards of palliative care. Here, we aimed to investigate whether a cultural mourning ritual, the “First Feast,” can be used by palliative care teams to ease the grief response of the deceased patient's relatives.

Method

A questionnaire with 23 questions about the prevalence of the First Feast tradition, the content, the pros and cons, and whether it would be useful for the grieving relatives of deceased patients was prepared and given to the palliative care patients’ relatives. The data were evaluated using the chi-square test.

Result

A total of 427 participants were enrolled in the study; 60.7% were female and the mean age was 36 (±13.4). A total of 76.8% of the participants were from the Tokat region and 77.8% (n = 332) performed the First Feast tradition. A significant difference was observed among participants with Tokat origins and non-Tokat origins in terms of awareness of the tradition (84.8% and 69.7%, respectively; p = 0.001). Ninety-one percent of the participants acknowledged that the tradition helped to ease the grief response of the relatives.

Significance of results

The First Feast, a mourning tradition performed in Tokat and other parts of Turkey, might be a useful auxiliary method for palliative care teams to help grieving families.

Keywords

After DeathCulturethe First FeastGriefMourningPalliative care
Type
Original Article
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 17 , Issue 4 , August 2019 , pp. 453 - 458
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

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