Aging Filipino siblings’ interment preferences: application of conjoint analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACTLike aging, death is inevitable. The loss of a family member is significant to the aging siblings who are tasked with the responsibility of caring for the burial and other funeral services. While there had been studies on funeral services, no research had been conducted on interment services preferences. Hence, the overall purpose of this conjoint analysis study is to ascertain the interment preferences of a select group of aging Filipino siblings. A total of 165 aging Filipino siblings, from two highly-populated provinces in the fifth region of the Philippines, participated in the sorting and ranking of vignettes. Results of the conjoint technique showed the Type of Burial as the most important attribute (22.715%) and Burial Tribute as the least (6.818%). Part-worth of the attributes is: Residence (.158) for Place of Wake; 1 to 3 days (.241) for Length of Wake; Mourning (.536) for the Burial Rituals; Eulogy program (.091) for Burial Tribute; Traditional Burial (1.412) for Type of Burial; Pure White (1.092) for Processional Color Theme; and No obituaries (.161). Marked differences were noted in the female aging siblings giving more importance to the processional/final interment color theme and the obituaries. Also, housewives and the unemployed are inclined to wear pure black during the processional/final interment color theme in contrast to those employed in government agencies. Findings of this study will greatly help in offering not only financial ease but also emotional convenience to the bereaved.