The Dying Process: Patients' Experiences of Palliative Care

by Julia Lawton

Overview

Taking as its focus a highly emotive area of study, The Dying Process draws on the experiences of daycare and hospice patients to provide a forceful new analysis of the period of decline prior to death.

Placing the bodily realities of dying very firmly centre stage and questioning the ideology central to the modern hospice movement of enabling patients to 'live until they die', Julia Lawton shows how our concept of a 'good death' is open to interpretation. Her study examines the non-negotiable effects of a patient's bodily deterioration on their sense of self and, in so doing, offers a powerful new perspective in embodiment and emotion in death and dying.

A detailed and subtle ethnographic study, The Dying Process engages with a range of deeply complex and ethically contentious issues surrounding the care of dying patients in hospices and elsewhere.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415226783
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/20/2000
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Preface and acknowledgements, 1. Introduction, 2. Day care: a safe retreat, Preface to Chapters 3 and 4 – changing contexts: entering the hospice, 3. ‘Body-subject’ to ‘body-object’: hospice care and the dying patient, 4. Inpatient hospice care: the sequestration of the unbounded body and ‘dirty dying’, 5. Invisible suffering: the social death, 6. Final reflections, Appendix A, Appendix B, Notes, Bibliography, Name index, Subject index

Editorial Reviews

Today, theory based practice is a fact of life for most clinicians. There has been a driving need for healthcare professionals to understand why certain interventions are utilized in given situations. This catalyst has prompted many researchers to integrate theoretical frameworks with education on quality care. The author of this text takes this approach as well. The purpose, according to the author, is to provide information regarding the ""Western"" self concept and the experiences of patients receiving palliative care in England. This integration of theory and experience gives the reader a clearer perspective on current trends and practice in palliative care. The audience is undergraduate and graduate students of end of life care. The language and terminology will require the reader to have a working knowledge of theory and healthcare. The author brings a sense of authority and understanding to the research process utilized for this text. A wide range of experiences as they are perceived by patients, caregivers, and staff are covered. This window into the world of palliative care is most interesting and intriguing. However, these experiences are those of individuals receiving and delivering palliative care in the U.K. Since the hospice and palliative care movement began in the U.K., most of the literature we have to date comes from this practice arena. Due to the differences in the healthcare delivery models of England and the U.S., further research into the experiences of patients here is truly necessary for clinicians practicing in the U.S.

Lisa Stepp

'Although not exactly a comfortable or easy read fopr anyone working in palliative care, this book is a fundamentlly important study of what happens when patients die, especially in hospices. It should become essential reading for anyone with an interest in the care of the dying.' - Paul Keeley, The Lancet

'Although not exactly a comfortable or easy read for anyone working in palliative care, this book is a fundamentally important study of what happens when patients die, especially in hospices. It should become essential reading for anyone with an interest in the care of the dying.' - The Lancet

From the Publisher