ABSTRACT
This research aims to explain the transformation of the phenomenon of death over time by examining the experiences of individuals who have lost a loved one regarding the dying process. The study utilizes a grounded theory design, a qualitative research method. In-depth interviews were conducted with 22 participants who had lost a loved one and witnessed the dying process within the last five years. The data obtained were evaluated using content analysis. Based on the participants’ perspectives, their testimonies and evaluations of the dying process were categorized around the central theme of the industrialization of death. The spatial transformation category refers to participants’ evaluations of the places where they died, such as death at home, the manner and course of death; the economic transformation category refers to how participants deal with the expenses and economic necessities related to the dying process; and the structural transformation category includes participants’ views on the bureaucratic and standardized rules governing processes related to death. These categories reveal that death has ceased to be merely a medical or religious phenomenon and has become part of an institutional, economic, and industrial system. Partici- pants perceived death not only as a biological ending but also as a multidimensional social process intertwined with the healthcare system, care practices, and social relations. The participants were found to possess a sophisticated structural and cultural awareness of death processes within the context of health sociology, and with this awareness, they tended to understand, question, and evaluate the process from different perspectives within their society.