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Once defiant of death--or even in denial--many American families and health care professionals are embracing the notion that a life consumed by suffering may not be worth living. Sociologist Roi Livne documents the rise and effectiveness of hospice and palliative care, and the growing acceptance that less treatment may be better near the end of life.
America's health care system was built on the principle that life should be prolonged whenever possible, regardless of the costs. This commitment has often meant that patients spend their last days suffering from heroic interventions that extend their life by only weeks or months. Increasingly, this approach to end-of-life care is coming under scrutiny, from a moral as well as a financial perspective. Sociologist Roi Livne documents the rise and effectiveness of hospice and palliative care, and growing acceptance of the idea that a life consumed by suffering may not be worth living. Values at the End of Life combines an in-depth historical analysis with an extensive study conducted in three hospitals, where Livne observed terminally ill patients, their families, and caregivers negotiating treatment. Livne describes the ambivalent, conflicted moments when people articulate and act on their moral intuitions about dying. Interviews with medical staff allowed him to isolate the strategies clinicians use to help families understand their options. As Livne discovered, clinicians are advancing the idea that invasive, expensive hospital procedures often compound a patient's suffering. Affluent, educated families were more readily persuaded by this moral calculus than those of less means. Once defiant of death--or even in denial--many American families and professionals in the health care system are beginning to embrace the notion that less treatment in the end may be better treatment.--
Every one of us will die, and the processes we go through will be our own - unique to our own experiences and life stories. End-of-Life Care and Pragmatic Decision Making provides a pragmatic philosophical framework based on a radically empirical attitude toward life and death. D. Micah Hester takes seriously the complexities of experiences and argues that when making end-of-life decisions, healthcare providers ought to pay close attention to the narratives of patients and the communities they inhabit so that their dying processes embody their life stories. He discusses three types of end-of-life patient populations - adults with decision-making capacity, adults without capacity, and children (with a strong focus on infants) - to show the implications of pragmatic empiricism and the scope of decision making at the end of life for different types of patients.
After the IPS2 conferences in Cranfield and Linköping in 2009 and 2010 the 3rd CIRP International Conference on Industrial Product Service Systems (IPS2) 2011 takes place in Braunschweig, Germany. IPS2 itself is defined as “an integrated industrial product and service offering that delivers value in use”. The customers expect comprehensive solutions, which are adapted to their individual needs. IPS2 offers the possibility to stand out from competition and for long-term customer loyalty. Particularly in times of economic crisis it becomes apparent which producing companies understand to satisfy the needs and requirements of their customers. Especially in this relatively new domain IPS2 it will be important to keep track of the whole context and to seek cooperation with other research fields and disciplines. The 3rd CIRP International Conference on Industrial Product Service Systems (IPS2) 2011 serves as a platform for such collaborations and the discussion of new scientific ideas.
Understanding the psychological, social, and spiritual needs at the end of life is crucial for today's health care providers. The goal of this guidebook is to provide an overview of end-of-life care, with an emphasis on the team approach to care.
Prepare your students for successful careers in caring for geriatric populations with Williams’ Basic Geriatric Nursing, 6th Edition. This easy-to-read bestseller includes the latest information on health care policy and insurance practices, and presents the theories and concepts of aging and appropriate nursing interventions with an emphasis on health promotion. Part of the popular LPN/LVN Threads series, it provides opportunities for enhanced learning with additional figures, an interactive new Study Guide on Evolve, and real-world clinical scenarios that help students apply concepts to practice. Complete coverage of key topics includes baby boomers and the impact of their aging on the health care system, therapeutic communication, cultural considerations, spiritual influences, evidence-based practice in geriatric nursing, and elder abuse, restraints, and ethical and legal issues in end-of-life care. Updated discussion of issues and trends includes demographic factors and economic, social, cultural, and family influences. Get Ready for the NCLEX® Examination! section at the end of each chapter includes key points along with new Review Questions for the NCLEX examination and critical thinking which may be used for individual, small group, or classroom review. UNIQUE! Streamlined coverage of nutrition and fluid balance integrates these essential topics. Delegation, leadership, and management content integrated throughout. Nursing Process sections provide a framework for the discussion of the nursing care of the elderly patient as related to specific disorders. Nursing Care Plans with critical thinking questions help in understanding how a care plan is developed, how to evaluate care of a patient, and how to apply knowledge to clinical scenarios. LPN/LVN Threads make learning easier, featuring an appropriate reading level, key terms with phonetic pronunciations and text page references, chapter objectives, special features boxes, and full-color art, photographs, and design. UNIQUE! Complementary and Alternative Therapies boxes address specific therapies commonly used by the geriatric population for health promotion and pain relief. Health Promotion boxes highlight health promotion, disease prevention, and age-specific interventions. Home Health Considerations boxes provide information on home health care for the older adult. Coordinated Care boxes address such topics as restraints, elder abuse, and end-of-life care as related to responsibilities of nursing assistants and other health care workers who are supervised by LPN/LVNs. Clinical Situation boxes present patient scenarios with lessons for appropriate nursing care and patient sensitivity. Critical Thinking boxes help you to assimilate and synthesize information. 10th grade reading level makes learning easier.
The crucial role of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in hospice and palliative settings receives a long-overdue focus in End-of-Life Care Considerations for the Speech-Language Pathologist, the fifth volume in Plural’s Medical Speech-Language Pathology book series. Seasoned clinicians provide a practical guide to the terminology, context, and knowledge needed to employ best practices and address the specific needs of patients nearing the end of life. As a profession, speech-language pathology focuses primarily on rehabilitation, with the expectation that patients’ function will improve with intervention. For patients with life-limiting conditions, SLPs play an important role in supporting patients’ communication, cognition, eating, drinking, and swallowing with an emphasis on quality of living. Clinical professionals require tailored resources to develop their knowledge and skills related to appropriate care and treatment in hospice and palliative care contexts, which have been hard to find until now. Nearly all patients experience difficulties with communication and eating as they near the end of life. Patients, family members, and professionals benefit if the patient can communicate their symptoms, indicate the effectiveness of symptom management strategies, participate in setting care goals, and engage in social-emotional and spiritual conversations with family and members of the care team. This book provides SLP professionals guidance in how to offer meaningful assessments and interventions that meet patients’ needs. The book contains case examples together with the latest research and contributing clinicians’ years of experience. Supported by these effective and thoughtful strategies, SLPs can offer both comfort and care for patients in their final days. Key Features: * An overview of and introduction to the key concepts and benefits of hospice and palliative care * Guidance on terminology and standard models of end-of-life care * Adult and pediatric case studies with frequently encountered scenarios * Chapters authored by a renowned team of contributors * Discussion of legal and ethical considerations * Practical techniques and strategies for assessment and intervention
Advances in our understanding of the brain and rapid advances in the medical practice of neurology are creating questions and concerns from an ethical and legal perspective. Ethical and Legal Issues in Neurology provides a detailed review of various general aspects of neuroethics, and contains chapters dealing with a vast array of specific issues such as the role of religion, the ethics of invasive neuroscience research, and the impact of potential misconduct in neurologic practice. The book focuses particular attention on problems related to palliative care, euthanasia, dementia, and neurogenetic disorders, and concludes with examinations of consciousness, personal identity, and the definition of death. This volume focuses on practices not only in North America but also in Europe and the developing world. It is a useful resource for all neuroscience and neurology professionals, researchers, students, scholars, practicing clinical neurologists, mental health professionals, and psychiatrists. A comprehensive introduction and reference on neuroethics Includes coverage of how best to understand the ethics and legal aspects of dementia, palliative care, euthanasia and neurogenetic disorders Brings clarity to issues regarding ethics and legal responsibilities in the age of rapidly evolving brain science and related clinical practice
