Traditional and religious death practices in Western Turkey

To investigate death-related traditional and religious practices in Narlıdere, a district of Izmir province in Turkey.

A descriptive design was used (n = 181). The interview form was composed of 28 open-ended questions. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews by the researchers. Descriptive statistics and chi-square significance test were conducted.

Of all the participants, 36.5% described death as the end of life. Praying took place first among the religious practices following death. A total of 42.0% said that relatives and friends who joined the burial ceremony shovel some soil into the pit over the corpse in order to express that they would not claim any rights from the deceased person thereafter, and 55.2% stated that they visited the deceased person's home to give social support to his or her relatives.

We recommended that nurses and physicians be closely acquainted with the prevailing traditions and religious beliefs in the communities where they served.