Improving death-friendliness offers further opportunity to improve social inclusion. A death-friendly approach could lay the groundwork for people to stop fearing getting old or alienating those who have.
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Many Australians come to the end of their life while living in aged care. But damningly, the aged care royal commission found many residents have worse palliative care options than those living elsewhere.
Minister of Justice David Lametti gives a thumbs up as he rises to vote in favour of a motion on Bill C-7, medical assistance in dying, in the House of Commons on Dec. 10, 2020.
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Expanding access to medical assistance in dying (MAID) to those not terminally ill puts vulnerable people at risk of feeling pressured into MAID, and doctors at risk of being forced to facilitate it.
The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association is calling on health authorities to “implement a more compassionate approach to end-of-life visitations … during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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How we experience the moment of death may be influenced by a cocktail of brain chemicals and the manner in which our brains shut down.
In a research study, 84 per cent of residents and families who received a pamphlet about end-of-life choices felt encouraged to think about their future care.
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The seriously ill and their families often want to protect each other from thoughts of death. Conversation about end-of-life choices are, however, essential to a good death.
Without an understanding of the complexities of medically assisted dying, it’s difficult for patients and families to make good decisions.
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Nurses who surround the process of medically assisted dying are an important source of insight into the real conversations our society needs to have about what it’s really like.
A person wanting to access voluntary assisted dying must meet strict criteria, including having a medical condition that is considered to be advanced and progressive.
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Western Australia might soon become the second state in Australia to legalise voluntary assisted dying. Its proposed law draws on the Victorian model, but has some important differences, too.
On June 19, Victoria will become the first state in Australia to legalise voluntary assisted dying.
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Ben White, Queensland University of Technology; Eliana Close, Queensland University of Technology, and Lindy Willmott, Queensland University of Technology
As we sit on the cusp of voluntary assisted dying becoming legal in Victoria, we expect it won’t always be simple for people who want it to access it – at least in the legislation’s early days.
Hospitals have a role to play too.
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It is not always easy to identify who needs palliative care.
Palliative radiation therapy is effective regardless of a patient’s original cancer site (for example breast, lung or kidney) and is usually delivered in one to 10 daily doses.
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Palliative radiation therapy can improve a cancer patient’s life, by alleviating pain and other symptoms. Unfortunately, some doctors associate the term with end-of-life care and fail to refer people.
You’ve more than likely heard of birth doulas. But nowadays, death doulas are providing support at the end of life. How they fit into existing structures of care remains to be understood.
People need time to learn about their options and think about their preferences.
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The UK has one of the most developed palliative care services in the world, yet people still miss out.
In one study of seriously ill older Canadians, 28 per cent of participants wanted “comfort care” (meaning no curative treatments) but this was documented in only four per cent of their charts.
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Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne