End-of-life care

Quality of life (Qol) is an individual’s satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the individual’s health, happiness and comfort. A high quality of life is essential for a happy and healthy life. As terminally-ill patients approach the end of life, it is imperative that these patients still experience a high quality of life (Qol) accessible via compassionate, respectful and competent caregivers. The articles in the reference list discuss barriers and obstacles that influence the quality of life…

ineffective. Anthony’s health status had been carefully managed by the palliative care team and have been working with Anthony to explore his care needs and end-of-life decisions. His symptoms (severe nausea and abdominal pain) have improved until he was admitted to the Emergency department after collapsing at the shopping centre. At this stage, it is suggested by healthcare professionals that an Advanced Care Planning (ACP) should be undertaken even though Anthony addressed to the nurse…

Palliative care is used for people who have life-threatening illness to improve their quality of life as well as family members. Hospice care also has the same philosophy of palliative care, in which is to give a patient the best quality of care and relief of symptoms. Contrasting with this, palliative care and hospice care are administered at different points in a patient’s prognosis. Palliative care can be used at any given point in the process, but hospice care can only be used if the patient…

An advance care plan is important as it allows all professionals who are caring for the dying to be able to ensure all wishes are followed and if any important religious or personal view or beliefs they wish to have with regards to their end of life. The gold standard framework for advance care planning states that it should be a structured discussion with patients and their families or carers about their wishes and thoughts for the future. Although such discussions may have occurred…

the individualistic and respectful approach to end-of-life care called palliative care. To palliative means to ease; in the case of medicine, palliative care eases the stressful burden of aggressive and terminal illnesses. Despite inaccurate beliefs, palliative care can…

described as an inability to perform any physical activity without discomfort and ‘objective evidence of severe cardiovascular disease’ (American Heart Association, 2015). There are difficulties in providing optimal care in these patients and this is due in part to the rate of decline in end stage heart failure which often follows a pattern of unpredictable improvements and declines with an overall subtle decline in baseline function (Adler, Goldfinger, Kalman, Park, & Meier, 2009). It is this…

could be said that death is the end of a life, that is why at time it can be referred simply as passing away. When it comes to the end of life care definition may vary from the length of the life ending issue. It can range from taking care of someone from a few hours up to several years. This relates to those patients that may have a terminal condition or a condition with a very low prognosis and death is very likely to happen (ALBERT, 2017). To those people a special care is given to assist…

much value life but also believe in one being able to make their own decisions regarding their health care but do not believe this is meant to involve takings one’s own life. Ethical Dilemma Physician-assisted death, is it right or is it wrong? Is it our right to choose when and how we die? Is it our right to ask someone to help us end our life? Physician-assisted death is also known as physician-assisted suicide. It is the act of having a physician help you to take your own life.…

permanently ill, patient with incurable problems are entitled to get help to end their suffering by using physicians to assist in ending their lives. The Hippocratic Oath suggests that this is outside of the physician’s professional responsibilities. It is very important to know and understand what our loved ones want in terms of end of life matters. Keeping documents up to date is the key when it comes to end of life matters. Some people may want to go naturally and some may want or even need a…

In Home Care Services and Mortality Simply put, mortality is the state of being subject to death. It is a human condition, and it is one that different cultures, religions, and individuals address and face in significantly different ways. During the first part of the last century, most people in America did not live past the age of 65. The primary cause of death in those years was infectious disease that struck suddenly and killed quickly. Over the next 100 years, advances in hygiene,…