Death, Funeral Rituals, and Stigma: Perspectives from Mortuary Workers and Bereaved Families.

Deaths caused by COVID-19 have affected bereaved family members in several ways, including the inability to perform funeral rites and rituals. Understanding the dynamics and experiences of death and funerals of bereaved families and mortuary workers can lead to improvements in funeral services and the provision of social support for the affected families and mortuary workers. This study aimed to capture the experiences of mourning family members in Indonesia who lost a loved one due to COVID-19 and of mortuary workers who performed funerals according to COVID-19 protocols. Ten family members and 12 mortuary workers living in West Timor, Indonesia, were interviewed using a semistructured interview approach. Findings of the study show that mortuary workers were able to strictly implement the new funeral protocols. However, the rushed nature of these funerals led to resistance from families and prevented bereaved families from performing the usual cultural and religious funeral rituals. This, combined with stigma from their neighbors, led these families to have poor psychological wellbeing.

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in the elderly: current insights.

Balance disorders, unsteadiness, dizziness and vertigo in the elderly are a significant health problem, needing appropriate treatment. One third of elderly patients with vertigo were diagnosed with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), the most common cause of dizziness in both primary care specialist Neurology and Ear Nose Throat settings. BPPV presents a specific paroxysmal positional nystagmus which can be obtained using the appropriate diagnostic positional test and can be treated effectively using specific therapeutic maneuvers. This review presents current insights into the diagnostic, pathogenetic and therapeutic aspects of BPPV in the elderly. BPPV in older patients does not differ significantly from BPPV in younger patients, with regard to pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment. However, in older patients, its prevalence is higher and it responds less effectively to treatment, having a tendency for recurrence. Specific issues which should be considered in the elderly are: 1) difficulty in obtaining an accurate history; 2) difficulty in performing the diagnostic and therapeutic maneuvers, which should be executed with slow and gentle movements and extremely cautiously to avoid any vascular or orthopedic complications; and 3) the relation between BPPV and falls.