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End-of-life issues
End-of-life issues
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Health Policy Tracking Service issue brief
- Author(s):
- Seiler, Louise W., author
- Contributor(s):
- Thomson Reuters, issuing body.
- Publication:
- [Toronto, Ontario] : Thomson Reuters, 19-December-2022
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- COVID-19
Federal Government
Nursing Homes -- legislation & jurisprudence
State Government
Terminal Care -- economics
Terminal Care -- legislation & jurisprudence
Advance Directives -- legislation & jurisprudence
Palliative Care -- legislation & jurisprudence
Prisoners -- legislation & jurisprudence
Tissue and Organ Procurement -- legislation & jurisprudence
Veterans -- legislation & jurisprudence
United States - Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- End-of-life care is the term used to describe the support and medical care given during the time surrounding death, however it takes place. The dying process can come suddenly, or take days, months, or even years. For some, the body systems weaken while the mind stays clear. For others, the body may remain strong which cognitive function declines. The end-of-life experience may vary depending on the person's preferences, needs, or choices. Some people may want to be at home when they die, while others may prefer to seek treatment in a hospital or facility until the very end. The U.S. has seen an increased demand by individuals and families for active participation in medical decision-making that has likely produced corresponding changes in expectations about end-of-life care. Increasingly, people are choosing hospice care at the end of life, which focuses on the care, comfort, and quality of life of a person with a serious illness who is approaching the end of life. Hospice is provided for a person with a terminal illness whose doctor believes he or she has six months or less to live if the illness runs its natural course. Like palliative care, hospice provides comprehensive comfort care as well as support for the family but attempts to cure the person's illness are stopped. End-of-life care can be provided in a variety of settings. The three most common places that people die are at home, in a hospital, or in a care facility. While not everyone has a chance to decide where they will die, people have the ability to plan ahead, by making advance directives that specify preferences about end-of-life care and who can make decisions on one's behalf in the event one becomes incapacitated. Discussion with one's physician can help provide information on available options, and answer questions of not only the patient but one's family. The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced and pushed to the threshold issues in the delivery of end-of-life care that providers in the U.S. must deal with. Among them, visitation by family and friends in end-of-life situations, disparities in care among poor and patients of color, a workforce depleted by burnout and other work opportunities, and unknown occupancy expectations in the future. Because end-of-life issues, including those pertaining to hospice care and advanced care directives, are intrinsically related to the issues surrounding long-term care, developing trends and pending legislation will continue to be monitored by HPTS.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (53 pages)).
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918645960106676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918645960106676