Life and death in English nursing homes: sequestration or transition?

Issues surrounding death and dying are now beginning to receive both serious attention from researchers in a range of disciplines, and support from those organisations which fund research. This study represents an appropriate extension of this research agenda to the environment of the nursing home. Participant observation was employed to gather data in four nursing homes over a period of 411 hours. One theme to emerge was the difficulty all experienced in identifying with any clarity a distinct 'dying role'.