An ethnographic study of near-death experience impact and aftereffects and their cultural implications.
L. Gordon
Journal of Near-Death Studies 2012 DOI: 10.17514/jnds-2012-31-2-p111-129 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Key findings | Argues that near-death experiencers have a previously unrecognized pattern of unmet health-education and counseling needs related to integrating their experiences, and that addressing these needs is necessary to realize the potential social-wellness value of such transformative experiences for individuals and societies. |
Abstract
Abstract: In this paper, I describe the research method and key near-death experience (NDE) aftereffects- and integration-related findings of my dissertation research study (Gordon, 2007), the first published near-death studies research project to use the ethnographic method. I compare my findings with those of a comparable sociological study (Sutherland, 1995), with emphasis on NDE aftereffects and integration issues related to what I identified as a previously unrecognized pattern of unmet, NDE-integration-related health-education and counseling needs. Finally, I explore the cultural implications of near-death and similarly transformative experiences and posit that actualizing the potential social-wellness value of these experiences to those who have had them and to their societies requires research and practice that adequately addresses experiencers' health-education and counseling needs.
Comparable studies
Other qualitative studies on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualitative thematic analysis of the phenomenology of near-death experiences Cardiac arrest survivors | 2018 | Qualitative study | n = 34 |
| Do Suicide Survivors Report Near-Death Experiences? Persons who had been close to death as a result of a suicide attempt | 1982 | Qualitative study | n = 36 |
| The evolving self: finding meaning in near-death experiences using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Female participants who had near-death experiences | 2008 | Qualitative study | n = 3 |
| Investigation of the phenomenology, physiology and impact of spiritually transformative experiences - kundalini awakening. Persons having a spiritually transformative experience (e.g., spontaneous energetic... | 2021 | Qualitative study | |
| Near-death experiences and religion: A further investigation Near-death experiencers | 1984 | Qualitative study | n = 40 |