Choices in Palliative Care: Issues in Health Care Delivery - Hardcover

by Arthur Blank (Editor), Amy Selwyn (Associate Editor), Sean O'Mahony (Editor)

This book addresses the need for more information on the management of palliative care programs. Part I addresses the various settings where palliative care occurs, Part II addresses the specific disease management approach and quality of life care including cancer, heart disease, dementia and AIDS/HIV. Part III addresses specific issues in palliative care by population including minorities, the elderly, and children. While Part IV addresses broader professional issues including developing a business plan for a palliative care program, legal and ethical issues around end-of-life care, quality management and policy issues. This book will travel well with existing public health textbook titles, particularly those focusing on health services delivery.

Back Jacket

The average person lives with chronic disease for three to six years.

Nine out of ten deaths in America are caused by chronic illness.

Half of all care of HIV/AIDS patients is defined as palliative care.

Keeping up with these statistics means improving on traditional concepts of palliative care to meet growing demands. Choices in Palliative Care brings together 31 leading experts to spotlight core issues in the field, identify ways PC can fill gaps in current care systems, and demonstrate state-of-the-art care that is both cost-effective and clinically appropriate. This far-sighted volume redefines palliative care as interdisciplinary and integrative, providing liaisons between patients, families, and doctors; minimizing loved ones' care burdens; bridging acute and long-term care to respond to clients' evolving needs; adaptable to non-fatal (and possibly curable) chronic illnesses.

Key areas of coverage:

• PC in acute care, long-term nursing facilities, hospice, and home settings
• Models of PC for AIDS/HIV, cancer, heart disease, chronic lung disease, Alzheimer's
• Specific quality-of-life issues concerning children and the elderly
• Successful business planning for PC, from funding to staffing, program development to quality improvement
• Legal, ethical, and policy issues specific to PC

Because so much of the future of health care delivery depends on the palliative field, Choices in Palliative Care is must reading for public health administrators, planners, and policymakers. Those teaching health service delivery courses will find this material especially useful.