muerte no existe; variaciones en los rituales de velación y cremación frente a la inhumación. Tipologías actuales de tanatorios y camposantos

Este artículo compara los antiguos rituales funerarios de velación (celebrados en las casas) e inhumación (en los cementerios, con su ritual de costumbres, en los que la presentación del cadáver era muy importante) con los nuevos rituales de velación en los tanatorios (lugares pensados para que la muerte no exista y se camufle con la vida), la cremación y los nuevos depósitos para depositar las cenizas (árboles, lagos, columbarios escondidos en las ciudades, ceniceros comunales...) o deshacerse de ellas. En estos (mar, aire, praderas en los cementerios, circuitos de agua...) no se conserva la reliquia sino la memoria, intentando esconder la muerte y aceptando falsamente que ésta no existe. This article compares the old funeral rituals of vigil (celebrated at home) and burial in cemeteries (with a long ritual full of customs where the presentation of the corpse was very important) with the new funeral rituals celebrated in funeral homes (places designed so that death does not exist and is camouflaged with life), the cremation and new places to deposit the ashes (trees, lakes, columbariums hidden in cities, communal ashtrays...) or getting rid of these through a new way where the relic is not preserved (sea, air, meadows in cemeteries, water circuits...), but the memory; trying to hide death and falsely accepting that it does not exist.

Exiled Bodies and Funeral Homes in Aotearoa New Zealand

<p>Within the hidden space of the embalmer's room the most abject of objects comes to rest. Embalming rooms, and the funeral homes that house them, are liminal zones, and the dead and decaying bodies that come to occupy them are, for many outside the funeral service industry, objects and spaces of mystification. Situated within contradictory discourses, the dead body is understood as an object/subject to be revered, whilst at the same time bringing to the living a degree of discomfort and fear. The body's decomposition reminds us that nothing can bring the dead back, thus representing the ultimate human fear - one's inevitable annihilation. It is therefore deemed necessary to remove this destabilising object/subject to a safe and contained space. This thesis opens up and explores such a space: the contemporary funeral home, with particular attention given to the principles and practices of embalming rooms, as these rooms represent possibly the most abject space of the funeral home. In doing so it excavates the historical, social and cultural constructs that have come to underpin contemporary funeral service provision and embalming practices, uncovering the various intrinsic dualisms that operate within the spaces of the funeral home - such as the public/private, contaminated/contained, life/death, inside/outside. The central question of the thesis asks: what can an exploration of the abject spaces and bodies of the funeral home in Aotearoa New Zealand offer to understandings about embodied geographies? For even as many geographers increasingly challenge the marginalisation of certain bodies and the spaces they inhabit, little attention is given to the dead body. Employing primarily the theoretical perspectives of emotional/psycho-geography and feminist geography, the thesis brings a reading of the ways in which death, decaying bodies, and the spaces within which they are separated, marginalised, and othered come to be understood by those within the funeral industry, and thus those who utilise its services. These theoretical approaches also challenge many of the dichotomies that form a major basis for the justification of contemporary funeral practices such as embalming. Through interviews with a variety of key stakeholders in both the traditional and alternative funeral sectors in Aotearoa New Zealand, and close readings of funeral industry texts, it is found that the dead body, embedded within totalising discourses on death, and contained and closeted away in the back rooms of funeral homes, is forced to undergo extensive, invasive practices that sanitise and transform it in order to eradicate any obvious traces that it is now a dead body. In the spaces of the funeral home the material and symbolic manifestations of death are continually regulated, contained, and referred to euphemistically, all the while retaining clear distinctions between what has been constructed as sacred and profane, public and private, clean and unclean. Ultimately, it is the contention of this thesis that the liminal spaces of the funeral home preserve certain knowledges and practices that ensure that the contemporary Westernbased funeral industry retains a monopoly over the bodies of the dead.</p>

Exiled Bodies and Funeral Homes in Aotearoa New Zealand

<p>Within the hidden space of the embalmer's room the most abject of objects comes to rest. Embalming rooms, and the funeral homes that house them, are liminal zones, and the dead and decaying bodies that come to occupy them are, for many outside the funeral service industry, objects and spaces of mystification. Situated within contradictory discourses, the dead body is understood as an object/subject to be revered, whilst at the same time bringing to the living a degree of discomfort and fear. The body's decomposition reminds us that nothing can bring the dead back, thus representing the ultimate human fear - one's inevitable annihilation. It is therefore deemed necessary to remove this destabilising object/subject to a safe and contained space. This thesis opens up and explores such a space: the contemporary funeral home, with particular attention given to the principles and practices of embalming rooms, as these rooms represent possibly the most abject space of the funeral home. In doing so it excavates the historical, social and cultural constructs that have come to underpin contemporary funeral service provision and embalming practices, uncovering the various intrinsic dualisms that operate within the spaces of the funeral home - such as the public/private, contaminated/contained, life/death, inside/outside. The central question of the thesis asks: what can an exploration of the abject spaces and bodies of the funeral home in Aotearoa New Zealand offer to understandings about embodied geographies? For even as many geographers increasingly challenge the marginalisation of certain bodies and the spaces they inhabit, little attention is given to the dead body. Employing primarily the theoretical perspectives of emotional/psycho-geography and feminist geography, the thesis brings a reading of the ways in which death, decaying bodies, and the spaces within which they are separated, marginalised, and othered come to be understood by those within the funeral industry, and thus those who utilise its services. These theoretical approaches also challenge many of the dichotomies that form a major basis for the justification of contemporary funeral practices such as embalming. Through interviews with a variety of key stakeholders in both the traditional and alternative funeral sectors in Aotearoa New Zealand, and close readings of funeral industry texts, it is found that the dead body, embedded within totalising discourses on death, and contained and closeted away in the back rooms of funeral homes, is forced to undergo extensive, invasive practices that sanitise and transform it in order to eradicate any obvious traces that it is now a dead body. In the spaces of the funeral home the material and symbolic manifestations of death are continually regulated, contained, and referred to euphemistically, all the while retaining clear distinctions between what has been constructed as sacred and profane, public and private, clean and unclean. Ultimately, it is the contention of this thesis that the liminal spaces of the funeral home preserve certain knowledges and practices that ensure that the contemporary Westernbased funeral industry retains a monopoly over the bodies of the dead.</p>

How has COVID-19 impacted the civil registration and vital statistics system in Loreto, Perú? Evidence using process mapping and qualitative analysis

ObjectivesAccurate civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems are the primary data source to measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality. This study assesses how the pandemic impacted CRVS system processes in Loreto region of Peru, one of the worst affected countries globally.DesignQualitative study.SettingLoreto, a remote region, which had the highest reported mortality rate in Peru during the pandemic.ParticipantsSemistructured individual interviews and documentary analysis were conducted between September 2020 and May 2021 with 28 key informants from eight institutions involved in death certification. Key informants were identified using a purposive sampling strategy commencing at the Health Directorate of Loreto, and the snowball method was used where a participant suggested another organisation or person. Information from key informants was used to compare business process maps of the CRVS system before and during the pandemic.ResultsDuring early May 2020, there were seven times more registered deaths than in earlier years, but key informants believed this underestimated mortality by 20%–30%. During the pandemic, families had to interact with more institutions during the death certification process. Several issues disrupted death certification processes, including the burden of increased deaths, the Environmental Health Directorate often removing a body without the family’s express agreement, the creation of COVID-19 cemeteries where no death certificate was needed for burial, greater participation of funeral homes that often used outdated paper forms, and closure of civil registry offices. There was increased use of the online National Death System (SINADEF) but many users had problems with access.ConclusionsThe pandemic substantially disrupted CRVS processes in Loreto, making death certification more difficult, placing greater burden on the family and leading to more participation from unregulated organisations such as funeral homes or cemeteries. These disruptions were impacted by limitations of the CRVS system’s processes before the pandemic.

A cross-sectional cohort study of prevalence of antibodies to COVID-19 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Intro: As of January 14, 2021, Haiti has had 10,781 confirmed (first case March 19th) and 45,927 suspected cases of COVID-19, with 240 official deaths. Methods: From May until September, 2020, we tested visitors to 20 clinics, for COVID-19 in five neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince as part of a public health effort to determine prevalence of COVID-19 in the general community. In order to estimate changes in number of deaths, the team visited eighteen funeral homes to solicit data on the number of funerals conducted for each month in 2019 and through October 2020. We also sought to evaluate the attitudes of Port-au-Prince citizens towards a generic COVID-19 vaccine in April 2021. Results: In May and July 2020, 11.4% and 9.1% of those tested were positive for antibodies to COVID-19, respectively. The number of funerals held in the Port-au-Prince area increased by 69.6.% (CI 95% 56.1-83.1) since the official arrival of COVID-19 on March 19th. We found high rates of vaccine hesitancy with 76% saying they would not take a free COVID-19 vaccine. Further research is needed to validate the findings here, but there are strong suggestions that COVID-19 has had more of an impact than previously reported.

Loyalitas Konsumen dalam Penggunaan Jasa Rumah Duka (Studi Kasus pada Rumah Duka Jelambar)

This study discusses consumer loyalty in the use of funeral home services. The theory used in this research is the theory of consumer loyalty, word of mouth theory, promotion theory, and service theory. This research uses a case study method with a qualitative descriptive research approach. The data in this study were obtained from 1 staff member and 5 (five) users of funeral home services. Funeral home services are usually used by Chinese Buddhists, Confucians, Christians and Catholics. Funeral homes don't really do marketing promotions, such as price discounts, advertisements, social media activations, and so on. Initially people know and can use the funeral home services through word of mouth. In addition, the area where they live is also close to the location of the funeral home. After using a funeral home service, they are satisfied with the service provided, so they will use the same funeral home service if needed. Because of the use of more than 1 (one) time, consumers can be said to be loyal or loyal. Consumer loyalty can be seen from their willingness to give recommendations (word of mouth) of funeral homes that they use to others. The conclusion of this study, one form of consumer loyalty is in the form of word of mouth. The location and services provided are some of the considerations underlying the funeral home consumer loyalty in this study. Penelitian ini membahas mengenai loyalitas konsumen dalam penggunaan jasa rumah duka. Teori yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah teori loyalitas konsumen, teori word of mouth, teori promosi, dan teori service atau pelayanan. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode studi kasus dengan pendekatan penelitian deskriptif kualitatif. Data dalam penelitian ini diperoleh dari 1 satu orang staf dan 5 (lima) orang pengguna jasa rumah duka. Jasa rumah duka biasanya digunakan oleh masyarakat Tionghoa beragama Buddha, Konghucu, Kristen, dan Katolik. Rumah duka tidak terlalu melakukan promosi pemasaran, seperti potongan harga, memasang iklan, pengaktifan sosial media, dan lainnya. Awalnya orang mengetahui dan dapat menggunakan jasa rumah duka melalui word of mouth. Selain itu, daerah tempat tinggal mereka juga dekat dengan lokasi rumah duka. Setelah menggunakan jasa rumah duka, mereka merasa puas akan service atau pelayanan yang diberikan sehingga mereka akan menggunakan jasa rumah duka yang sama apabila membutuhkan. Karena penggunaan lebih dari 1 (satu) kali, konsumen dapat dikatakan setia atau loyal. Loyalitas konsumen dapat dilihat dari kesediaan mereka akan memberikan rekomendasi (word of mouth) rumah duka yang mereka gunakan kepada orang lain. Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini, salah satu bentuk loyalitas konsumen adalah dalam bentuk word of mouth. Lokasi dan pelayanan yang diberikan merupakan beberapa pertimbangan yang melatarbelakangi loyalitas konsumen rumah duka pada penelitian ini.

Simplified Mathematical Modelling of Uncertainty: Cost-Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccines in Spain

When exceptional situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, arise and reliable data is not available at decision-making times, estimation using mathematical models can provide a reasonable reckoning for health planning. We present a simplified model (static but with two-time references) for estimating the cost-effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine. A simplified model provides a quick assessment of the upper bound of cost-effectiveness, as we illustrate with data from Spain, and allows for easy comparisons between countries. It may also provide useful comparisons among different vaccines at the marketplace, from the perspective of the buyer. From the analysis of this information, key epidemiological figures, and costs of the disease for Spain have been estimated, based on mortality. The fatality rate is robust data that can alternatively be obtained from death registers, funeral homes, cemeteries, and crematoria. Our model estimates the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) to be 5132 € (4926–5276) as of 17 February 2021, based on the following assumptions/inputs: An estimated cost of 30 euros per dose (plus transport, storing, and administration), two doses per person, efficacy of 70% and coverage of 70% of the population. Even considering the possibility of some bias, this simplified model provides confirmation that vaccination against COVID-19 is highly cost-effective.

Purdue College of Pharmacy's Response to the Hand Sanitizer Shortage during the Pandemic

With the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), came struggles and hardships that were not foreseen. One of these struggles was to maintain an adequate supply of medical equipment, medications, and other necessities to help protect individuals and communities. Proper hand hygiene is an important part of the response to COVID-19. Sanitizing and taking steps to prevent contraction of COVID-19 was a high priority and with the high demand, the availability of hand sanitizer was scare. In March 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a policy allowing pharmacists to temporarily compound alcohol-based hand sanitizer during the public health emergency. This provided the Purdue University Pharmacy the opportunity to provide this essential service to the Purdue and local community. In collaboration with the Purdue University Pharmacy, four pharmacists, two pharmacy technicians, and five pharmacy students compounded a total of 831.36 liters of hand sanitizer (approximately 220 gallons) during March and April 2020. They packaged the product into smaller bottles (i.e., two ounces) and labeled them according to FDA guidelines. This resulted in over 13,000 bottles of hand sanitizer that was safe for human use. Many of the bottles were donated to campus and community agencies including food pantries and transitional housing and shelters to assist those most in need. While the remaining bottles were sold (at cost) to campus and community members, police departments, fire departments, sanitation departments, funeral homes, libraries, and childcare centers, to name just a few. Pharmacy students reflected on the experience and commented that the initiative impacted them both personally and professionally and provided a way to work together and give back to the community during this challenging time. This community outreach initiative helped to protect community members and allowed the pharmacy students to continue to learn during this uncertain time.

Epidemic Curve of Covid-19 Cases after Lockdown in the Municipality of Belém, Pará State, Brazil

Objective: To describe the evolution of COVID-19 cases three weeks after the start of the lockdown in the municipality of Belém, State of Pará. Methodology: Descriptive-epidemiological study, quantitative approach. The reported cases of Covid-19 were collected and analyzed in the municipality of Belém, from May 28 to June 3, 2020, that is, three weeks after the decree that regulated the lockdown. Data were extracted from the websites of the state departments and the following variables were evaluated: gender, age group, city. Results: It was identified that there were records of 92 confirmed cases and 19 deaths from coronavirus in the municipality. People aged 60 years or older were the ones who received the most confirmation of the disease and who also died the most. Women were predominant among confirmed cases and men among deaths. Conclusion: The present study consists of offering the academic environment reflections about the implementation of lockdown and how it reflects on the possible control of the increase of cases in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, based on the collection of epidemiological data of the disease, carried out in the municipality. For this, there was an increasing trend in the number of both confirmed cases and deaths. However, after the lockdown, it was possible to identify that the incidence remained in an isolation rate interval, without exponential growth, different from what was expected without the strategy. This contributes to the lower demand for care in health services and funeral homes.