Palliative Care: A Patient-Centered Approach / Edition 1

by Geoff Mitchell

Overview

Series Editors: Moira Stewart, Judith Belle Brown and Thomas R Freeman As the population in western cultures ages, more people suffer chronic, ultimately life-limiting diseases and medical professionals need to be equipped to cope with the ever growing pressure of palliative care. This book gives guidance on how to approach patients with life limiting illness. While the problems most people present to the doctor appear relatively straightforward, a whole person approach to understanding the complex interaction between the person, their illness and their environment should lead to a more complete consideration of the illness and better health outcomes. For issues of palliative care, such an approach is essential to identify and meet the many needs of desperately ill people. Palliative Care offers a fresh look at the management of patients. With international, evidence-based contributions, the book suggests practical and challenging ways to care for the dying. It is ideal for all healthcare professionals working in palliative care, General Practitioners and medicine and healthcare students.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781857757392
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	03/01/2000
Series:	Patient-Centered Care
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	12.00(w) x 6.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Palliative Care: The magnitude of the problem. Pathophysiology of life-limiting illnesses. Life limiting illness: the illness experience. Understanding the whole person: life-limiting illness across the life cycle. Symptom management in palliative care. Enhancing the patient-clinician relationship. Health promotion and palliative care.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Barbara M Mulich, MSN, FNP-BC, ACHPN (West Virginia University Hospitals)
Description: This book provides general practitioners with an introduction to palliative care, raising readers' level of awareness of the complexity of patients' experiences in chronic and terminal illnesses with an emphasis on holistic care.
Purpose: The editor identifies the need for family practitioners to be competent in palliative care and sees this book providing a model of care with an "intellectual framework" to assist in the development of patient care policies and procedures in the general practice community. The objectives are pertinent with the increasing population of elders and the advances in medical technology enabling people to live longer. The individual practitioner is likely to find meeting the objectives daunting, but a healthcare practice or a medical or allied health school could use this approach for instruction.
Audience: The book is written for advanced students, residents, or practitioners in medicine, nursing, social services, or pastoral care. The authors have noteworthy credentials, representing many disciplines, with most working in the U.K.
Features: Through the spectrum of illness and disease, the book explores the impact on physical, psychosocial, and spiritual concerns of self, family, and community including bereavement. The use of conversations and case presentations helps readers to experience patients' and families' lives with insight into their daily struggles. This is followed by practical steps toward understanding the whole person. The book provides evidence-based references throughout. A weakness is the use of a complex case to discuss symptom management in a book seeking to encourage general practitioners to incorporate palliative care into their practice.
Assessment: This book provides an introduction to the holistic view of palliative care. It is not a how-to book. Novices may find it beneficial to raise their awareness but it could also leave them with wondering "Where do I ever begin?" rather than "What do I do first?" In tandem with the other books in the series, this is likely a good complement. It gives readers cause to ponder an obligation to promote holistic palliative care, not only to the individual, but also the community and general public.

Doody's Review Service