‘Ambivalence’ at the end of life: How to understand patients’ wishes ethically
Health-care professionals in end-of-life care are frequently confronted with patients who seem to be ‘ambivalent’ about treatment decisions, especially if they express a wish to die. This article investigates this phenomenon by analysing two case stories based on narrative interviews with two patien...
| Authors: | ; ; ; |
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| Tipo de documento: | Recurso Electrónico Artigo |
| Idioma: | Inglês |
| Verificar disponibilidade: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Carregar...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Publicado em: |
Sage
2012
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| Em: |
Nursing ethics
Ano: 2012, Volume: 19, Número: 5, Páginas: 629-641 |
| Outras palavras-chave: | B
end of life
B Ambivalence B Narratives B wish to die B patients’ experience B Identity |
| Acesso em linha: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Resumo: | Health-care professionals in end-of-life care are frequently confronted with patients who seem to be ‘ambivalent’ about treatment decisions, especially if they express a wish to die. This article investigates this phenomenon by analysing two case stories based on narrative interviews with two patients and their caregivers. First, we argue that a respectful approach to patients requires acknowledging that coexistence of opposing wishes can be part of authentic, multi-layered experiences and moral understandings at the end of life. Second, caregivers need to understand when contradictory statements point to tensions in a patient’s moral experience that require support. Third, caregivers should be careful not to negatively label or even pathologize seemingly contradictory patient statements. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-0989 |
| Obras secundárias: | Enthalten in: Nursing ethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0969733011436206 |