Living Wills

Paper Summary:

This paper examines different options for end-of-life care. In particular, hospice programs are described as well as different cultural attitudes toward euthanasia. The beliefs in the United States are compared to those in Europe and Japan. Living wills are discussed as a choice for one to advocate for his own care were he to become incapacitated. The paper ends with an example of a living will.

From the Paper:

"Although a good portion of the advances in health care made during the 20th Century surrounded the prolongation of life, it cannot be ignored that the last forty years have seen a significant increase in the amount of study and attention paid to issues surrounding end of life factors. There has appeared a more structured and linear approach to the management of terminally ill patients, as well as a greater acceptance and implementation of advanced directives. To add to this the greater availability of good quality palliative and hospice care, and death no longer becomes a passive and painful process, but rather a stage of life that requires certain steps and attendance to certain issues. This is not to say that end-of-life care is perfected. A good example would be to show that, despite the ready availability of hospice programs, they remain significantly underused by the patients who would qualify. It may be an issue of pride, but primary care providers are often slow to refer patients to hospice programs, and when it is done, then the length of time that service is provided until the time of death is often such a short time that the patients are not able to get the benefit that a full-spectrum hospice program could provide "

More papers on Living Wills:

• Essay # 71795 : "Living Wills"
• Essay # 18666 : "Voluntary Passive Living Wills"
• Analytical Essay # 84836 : "The Living Will "

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