When provided by a skilled, multidisciplinary team, palliative care is highly effective at addressing the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs of dying patients and their families. However, some patients who ...

In this article, the vitality of premature infants will be described and discussed. Vitality was one of the main factors in a grounded theory study in which the aim was to generate knowledge concerning the ethical decision-making ...

Conflicts between physicians and families about end-of-life decisions create challenging and emotionally difficult situations. In this article, we propose a "differential diagnosis" of such conflicts, distinguishing ...

BACKGROUND: Decisions to withhold or withdraw life-prolonging treatment in terminally ill patients are common in some areas of medical practice. Information about the frequency and background of these decisions is generally ...

Comprehensive palliative care, as exemplified by many state-of-the-art hospice programs, is the standard of care for the dying. Although palliative care is very effective, physicians, nurses, patients, families, and loved ...

The continuing debate over the deeply controversial issue of physician-assisted suicide has been complicated by confusion about how this practice resembles or differs from refusal of life-sustaining treatment. Perspectives ...

This study is part of a comprehensive investigation of ethical thinking among male and female physicians and nurses. Nine women physicians with different levels of expertise, working in various wards in paediatric clinics ...