Spending the end of one’s life at home in Réunion: Staying home whatever it costs?

Résumé 0

Dying at home in Réunion is a common situation, part of the traditional conception of death as a stage in the life cycle, especially for older adults. Seen as better able to maintain reference points and habits, the home is believed to anchor the end of life in a view of death as an “ordinary” part of life, the final stage. This article focuses on the various aspects of staying at home at the end of life. Based on a qualitative survey of relatives who have accompanied a person at the end of life and of professionals and volunteers involved in end-of-life support at home, we show that spending the end of one’s life at home in Réunion is part of “classic” patterns: valuing a death surrounded by a familiar and family environment in continuity with the person’s previous life. But the home does not prevent certain disruptions, such as home adaptations, the arrival of professional carers in the home, and changes in the rhythms of the people supported and, above all, those of their relatives.