1/6. Thanatomania in an Asmat community. A report of successful "western" treatment.Case report from the Asmat-area, West New Guineaof black magic in a 12-year-old boy, confirmed anthropologically and medically. Successful treatment by western medicine was achieved by removing the emotional pressure exerted by the community on the patient through physical and pharmaceutical isoledical help saving a black magic victim. A follow-up of the medicine and anthropology, permitting a discussion of the medical cultural implication.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/6. Caregiving at the end of life.Meeting the demands of chronic illness and disease states is challenging, at best. Too often, the chronicity of the illness hastens death. The physical, psychological, and sociological changes that accompany the death of an individual require attention and forethought if the life transition is to be made with elegance and grace. This article addresses the caregiving demands for the professional and familial/social support surrounding the chronically ill individual at the end of life. Focus is placed on the preparation of advance directives-legal documents that set clear boundaries for honoring the wishes of the patient.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/6. Characteristics of the grieving process: a pilot study of 10 Korean spouses of patients who passed away from cancer.The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify the characteristics of the grieving process of Korean spouses who lost their partner to cancer. Five women and five men were recruited by convenience sampling from surviving spouses attending a follow up program at a hospice center in Seoul, korea. In-depth interviews, observation, and instruments on grief stage and grief responses were used to collect data. Interviews were tape recorded, transcribed, and analyzed line by line to discover recurrent patterns and themes. Gender differences were noted for grief responses (physical, cognitive, emotional, social and spiritual) and factors influencing grief.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/6. Prolonging dying is the same as prolonging living--one more response to Long.In earlier publications, we had argued that Paul Ramsey is inconsistent because he simultaneously asserts that (i) 'all our days and years are of equal worth' and (ii) 'that it is permissible to refrain from prolonging the lives of some dying patients'. Thomas Long has suggested that we have not shown that Paul Ramsey is inconsistent. Ramsey and we, he holds, start from incommensurable metaphysical views: for Ramsey, the dying process has religious significance--God is calling his servant home. While it is normally a good thing to keep a patient alive, it would, for Ramsey, show deafness to God's call to keep a dying patient alive. It is true we do not share Paul Ramsey's religious views. It is, however, not necessary to rely on any particular metaphysical views to refute Ramsey's position. For Ramsey's view to be internally consistent, Ramsey would have to be able to distinguish between dying and non-dying patients. We examine some of Ramsey's examples and show that his practical judgements do not allow us to draw this distinction. This means that, contra Long, we hold fast to our charge that Ramsey's view is inconsistent.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/6. The psychosocial impact of a progressive physical handicap and terminal illness (Duchenne muscular dystrophy) on adolescents and their families.This paper reports in narrative style on a sample of 13-16-year-old Duchenne muscular dystrophy adolescents in a residential setting in the UK. The terminally ill dystrophic boys' physical handicaps were noticed at about five years of age. In-depth interviews were conducted with parents, while projective assessment and psychodrama were used with the boys. Findings for this paper draw heavily on family interviews. Not surprisingly, the Duchenne boys evinced significant isolation from the mainstream of normal culture. The parents of the terminal group showed marked preoccupation with their sons, great stress and diminished expression of enjoyment. The Duchenne adolescents raised the issue of handicap surprisingly often with their parents, suggesting their great need to acknowledge their disease with parents. Their parents, however, evinced marked difficulty in responding to death issues with the boys - a reaction which leaves the boys alone and the parents guilty. These observations on the family are discussed in the context of a family identification process.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 5keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/6. The near-death experience following multiple trauma.The NDE is a fascinating but not uncommon phenomenon that some trauma victims experience during physical crises or periods of apparent clinical death. When critical care trauma nurses are familiar with the characteristics of the experience, they are able to assist trauma victims to understand available information about NDEs. More important, critical care nurses are able to assist victims and their families to understand the meanings of the NDE and how it affects their lives.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |