As humanitarian aid organizations have evolved, there is a growing recognition that incorporating palliative care into aid efforts is an essential part of providing the best care possible. A Field Manual for Palliative Care in Humanitarian Crises represents the first-ever effort at educating and providing guidance for clinicians not formally trained in palliative care in how to incorporate its principles into their work in crisis situations. Written by a team of international experts, this pocket-sized manual identifies the needs of people affected by natural hazards, political or ethnic conflict, epidemics of life-threatening infections, and other humanitarian crises. Later chapters explore topics including pain management, skin conditions, non-communicable diseases, palliative care emergencies, the law and ethics of end of life care, and more. Concise and highly accessible, this manual is an ideal educational tool pre-deployment or during fieldwork for clinicians involved in planning and providing humanitarian aid, local care providers, and medical trainees.

Death, dying, loss, and care giving are not just medical issues, but societal ones. Palliative care has become increasingly professionalised, focused around symptom science. With this emphasis on minimizing the harms of physical, psychological, and spiritual stress, there has been a loss of how cultures and communities look after their dying, with the wider social experience of death often sidelined in the professionalisation and medicalisation of care. However, the people we know and love in the places we know and love make up what matters most for those undergoing the experiences of death, loss, and care giving. Over the last 25 years the theory, practice, research evidence base, and clinical applications have developed, generating widespread adoption of the principles of public health approaches to palliative care. The essential principles of prevention, harm reduction, early intervention, and health and wellbeing promotion can be applied to the universal experience of end of life, irrespective of disease or diagnosis. Compassionate communities have become a routine part of the strategy and service development in palliative care, both within the UK and internationally. The Oxford Textbook of Public Health Palliative Care provides a reframing of palliative care, bringing together the full scope of theory, practice, and evidence into one volume. Written by international leaders in the field, it provides the first truly comprehensive and authoritative textbook on the subject that will help to further inform developments in this growing specialty.

The first resource of its kind, Palliative and Serious Illness Patient Management for Physician Assistants provides a fundamental framework for physician assistants and physician associates to incorporate palliative care medicine, including end-of-life care, into their practice. The book focuses on pharmacologic and integrative medical therapeutic modalities, as well as the evaluation and treatment of special populations, which reflects the reality of a physician assistant's day-to-day job. It uses a patient-centered approach to address the comprehensive management of serious illness patients, as well as their designated families, significant others, caregivers, and health care providers. Chapters are organized into six sections that cover the essential aspects of care, symptom management, and transitioning care at the end-of-life. This book is ideal for physician assistant trainers (didactic or clinical), students, and practicing clinicians who seek to enhance their communication and medical skills in the treatment of all seriously illness patient populations in any specialty, and in the management of their symptoms at any stage of their disease or condition.

This new edition of the Practical Management of Complex Cancer Pain has been fully updated and expanded, with five new chapters on novel interventional techniques in cancer pain amelioration. The book provides advice on advanced pain management, emphasising the suitability and selection of patients for different invasive and complex procedures based on patient history. Case histories are included throughout the text to give the reader insight into the complexities of holistic management, with pain being only one component in the distress that cancer causes for both patients and families. The book also covers cancer pain management for patients in a community setting, and the collaboration between pain and palliative medicine. Concise, practical, and evidence-based, this guide is essential reading for all pain and palliative care specialists in the community, hospital, and hospice settings.

This sensitive and compassionate book provides older people who are nearing the end of life and their loved ones, as well as the professionals who work with them, with a greater depth of understanding of spiritual issues surrounding death and dying. Illustrated with the experiences of many older people, it explores important themes such as grief and loss; fear; pain, distress and suffering; acceptance; transcendence; prayer; the healing of relationships; and intimacy, and shows that the final journey towards death can be one of the most spiritually meaningful times in the life of an older person - a time in which there is still hope, and in which the person who is dying and their loved ones can grow spiritually, strengthened by the difficult times they face together. Spiritual issues for older people with dementia who are nearing the end of life are also explored, as are ethical and moral issues in death and dying, and the ways in which bereaved partners and relatives may come to terms with the loss of a loved one. This concise and accessible book will be a valuable resource for those in the caring professions and a rich source of guidance and support for older people who are nearing the end of life and their families.

Are you involved in caring for people at the end of their life? Do you have a role in supporting the families of those who are dying, or is this an area of your work you find personally difficult?This book is an accessible guide for all those working in health or social care and caring for people at the end of their lives. This will include people in roles such as healthcare assistant, hospice worker, volunteer, nurse or other carers.Written by experts with extensive experience in delivering high quality end of life care, this book is full of real life examples, reflection exercises and case studies. It also includes insights into what can help make a good death, and how to help support families at the end of life.The easy to read chapters emphasise treating people who are dying with dignity using a person centred approach.The book supports the delivery of quality care by recognising physical and non-physical symptoms, and thinking about various emotional and physical needs people might have. It is also important that care givers look after themselves and advice is given on how best to do this.An essential purchase for anyone looking for guidance or support in this area, and suitable for those working in the community, care homes, hospices, hospitals or other settings where people are cared for. With a Foreword from Dr. Ros Taylor, MBE, National Director for Hospice Care, Hospice UK."The book strikes a balance between the factual and the personal, and gives the reader detailed information and time to think through reflection exercises. It highlights essential elements of end of life care, including communication, symptom management and personal care during bereavement. It emphasises the importance of adopting a person-centred approach of people who are dying. The book supports the delivery of quality care by recognizing the physical and non-physical symptoms, and thinking about people's emotional and physical needs. It also makes clear that caregivers should look after themselves and how they should do so." Deborah Preshaw, doctoral nursing student, Queens University Belfast, UK "This is a beautifully presented learning tool to support the delivery of end of life care. I particularly like the 'signposts' which reinforce the intention of the book to enable 'carers' to apply what they read to their role in practice." Liz Bryan, Director of Education and Training, St Christopher's Hospice, UK "This book is a very welcome addition to the literature on end of life care, as it does exactly what it says - it is a practical guide. It is written by an inter-professional group of clinical experts who have managed to create a concise, accessible resource which would be perfect for carers, volunteers, Health Care Support Workers or health care student working in any clinical setting who wants to make a difference for individuals approaching the end of their lives. The book addresses all of the important aspects of care at this crucial time, including attitudes to death and dying, communication issues, common physical and psycho-social symptoms, and care in the last hours of life. The case studies of three individuals are threaded throughout the book and are an excellent way to illustrate theoretical content and demonstrate its clinical application. The glossary of terms is particularly useful for a non-specialist audience, as are the resources for further reading. I particularly welcome the use of 'signposts' to different activities at key points which encourage the reader to reflect and apply the knowledge to their own situation. I highly recommend this book to any individual who wants to develop their confidence and competence in this challenging, but critically important area of care." Mick Coughlan, Programme Leader, The Royal Marsden School, UK "I found the chapters easy to read and the link to a case study really brought the words 'to life'. The chapter on self-care was helpful - this is an area hospice managers are having to focus on in detail as our staff strive to maintain the high levels of quality care hospices are renowned for with compassion and dignity . Giving emotional support throughout a shift to patients, families and colleagues can lead to a feeling of 'exhaustion' and 'fatigue', which if not recognised and addressed leads to time off sick and a feeling of being 'powerless' for staff . Healthcare professionals must recognise this as well as their managers, who then need to provide different levels of interventions that staff can access - as described in the book. I think all palliative care libraries should have this book on their shelves and perhaps it could be a 'core' reading book for training. I also used it on the ward to discuss with nurses - it's not that what is written is necessarily new but it is well written, concise and relevant. I feel this book would be very useful for those new to palliative care as well as those studying the subject. Relating theory to practice is always powerful and for new nurses and other healthcare professionals this provides context and meaning." Clodagh Sowton, Director of Patient Services, Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care, UK "This is a welcome book to the field of end of life care. This practical guide is accessible and is an excellent bridge between the 'Lay Person' and those health care professionals caring for the individual as they approach the end of life. The authors present their subject areas in a most readable and engaging style. While reviewing the case studies (which are weaved throughout the whole book); you feel they have come from experienced carers who have had 'lived experiences' of end of life care. This therefore, makes the chapters much more relatable and applicable to practice and real world life. This is also a personable book and I would recommend it to health care professionals and lay persons alike- who need to address or who may require further insight into the realms of: Physical/psycho-social symptoms, communication challenges and differential perspectives on dying and death. Finally, I will also be directing students of healthcare towards this impressive, insightful book." Robert Murphy, Senior Lecturer - Adult Nursing, London South Bank University, UK "The material covered is very helpful and the range of authors has been well selected from individuals who are active in clinical practice. The book is practical and clear, and Clair deserves high praise for the contribution it will make to clinicians seeking to improve their palliative care knowledge and skills." Professor Max Watson, Medical Director Northern Ireland Hospice, Visiting Professor University of Ulster, UK

"I wish I'd had this book when I needed it. Death and dying are not subjects that many people are comfortable talking about, but it's hugely important to be as prepared as you can be - emotionally, physically, practically, financially, and spiritually. This book may be the most important guide you could have." - Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love ___________ The end of a life can often feel like a traumatic, chaotic and inhuman experience. In this reassuring and inspiring book, palliative care physician Dr BJ Miller and writer Shoshana Berger provide a vision for rethinking and navigating this universal process. There are plenty of self-help books for mourners, but nothing in the way of a modern, approachable and above all useful field guide for the living. And all of us - young, old, sick and well - could use the help. After all, pregnant couples have ample resources available to them as they prepare to bring a new life into the world: Lamaze courses, elaborate birth plans, tons of manuals. Why don't we have a What to Expect When You're Expecting to Die book? An accessible, beautifully designed and illustrated companion, A Beginner's Guide to the End offers a clear-eyed and compassionate survey of the most pressing issues that come up when one is dying, and will bring optimism and practical guidance to empower readers with the knowledge, resources and tools they'll need to die better, maybe even with triumph.

Monitoring the Critically Ill Patient is an invaluable, accessible guide to caring for critically ill patients on the general ward. Now fully updated and improved throughout, this well-established and handy reference guide text assumes no prior knowledge and equips students and newly-qualified staff with the clinical skills and knowledge they need to confidently monitor patients at risk, identify key priorities, and provide prompt and effective care. This new edition includes the following five new chapters: * Monitoring the critically ill child * Monitoring the critically ill pregnant patient * Monitoring the patient with infection and related systemic inflammatory response * Monitoring a patient receiving a blood transfusion * Monitoring pain

A focus on intentional communication, team building, and relational maintenance.This text is designed to help form and maintain palliative care teams that survive and thrive. Whether you are starting a new team or hoping to help an existing team, this text addresses aspects of team players, leadership, meetings, organizational culture, and self- and team-care through a combination of empirical data and real voices from health care professionals in palliative care practice. By focusing on the individual professional in relation to team health and success, this text shows how to develop high quality, high-performing palliative care teams. Perfect for both students and the working professional, this text is useful at any time in your career or your team's development. It explores the types of providers involved in palliative care, their roles, possible conflicts, and the opportunity to amplify their work as a team while overcoming the stigma that may be attached to palliative care. This book focuses on the foundational role of communication in leadership, team building, and the delivery of patient care. Designed to provide workable solutions to challenges such as poor team design, siloing, and faulty communication, it provides suggestions that can be implemented immediately by your palliative care team. This focus allows health care professionals who are passionate about palliative care to grow into high functioning teams with a focus on excellent patient care. Key Features: Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory Palliative Care Experiences Stories from nurses, social workers, chaplains, physicians, pharmacists, executives, patients, and families Pearls from the Field: Provider and team takeaways Best practices of team leaders Tips for individuals and teams to communicate with other providers, departments, and senior leadership Discusses how to improve short-term and long-term functionality Outlines the predictors of burnout for palliative care professionals and teams Self-care and team-care suggestions Combines up-to-date research and theory in an accessible writing style

The Oxford Textbook of Palliative Nursing remains the most comprehensive treatise on the art and science of palliative care nursing available. Dr. Betty Rolling Ferrell and Dr. Judith A. Paice have invited 162 nursing experts to contribute 76 chapters addressing the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs pertinent to the successful palliative care team. Organized within 7 Sections, this new edition covers the gamut of principles of care: from the time of initial diagnosis of a serious illness to the end of a patient's life and beyond. This fifth edition features several new chapters, including chapters on advance care planning, organ donation, self-care, global palliative care, and the ethos of palliative nursing. Each chapter is rich with tables and figures, case examples for improved learning, and a strong evidence-based practice to support the highest quality of care. The book offers a valuable and practical resource for students and clinicians across all settings of care. The content is relevant for specialty hospice agencies and palliative care programs, as well as generalist knowledge for schools of nursing, oncology, critical care, and pediatric. Developed with the intention of emphasizing the need to extend palliative care beyond the specialty to be integrated in all settings and by all clinicians caring for the seriously ill, this new edition will continue to serve as the cornerstone of palliative care education.

This sixth edition of the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine takes us now into the third decade for this definitive award-winning textbook. It has been rigorously updated to offer a truly global perspective, highlighting the best current evidence-based practices, and collective wisdom from more than 200 experts around the world. This leading textbook covers all the new and emerging topics, updated and restructured to reflect major developments in the increasingly widespread acceptance of palliative medicine as a fundamental public health need. The sixth edition includes new sections devoted to family and caregiver issues, cardio-respiratory symptoms and disorders, and genitourinary symptoms and disorders. In addition, the multi-disciplinary nature of palliative care is emphasized throughout the textbook, covering areas from ethical and communication issues, the treatment of symptoms, and the management of pain. The Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine is a truly comprehensive text. No hospital, hospice, palliative care service, or medical library should be without this essential source of information. This sixth edition of the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine is dedicated to the memory of Professor Kenneth Fearon husband of Professor Marie Fallon and a surgeon who became a world leader in the research and management of anorexia and cachexia. He modeled a work-life balance that is so critical in our field, with devotion to both his patients and his family.

Palliative care is an essential element of our health care system and is becoming increasingly significant amidst an aging society and organizations struggling to provide both compassionate and cost-effective care. Palliative care is also characterized by a string interdisciplinary approach. Nurses are at the center of the palliative care team across settings and populations. The seventh volume in the HPNA Palliative Nursing Manuals series, Care of the Imminently Dying provides an overview of symptom management when a patient is reaching the end of their life. This volume covers delirium and the advantages of early diagnosis, determining the presence of dyspnea, death rattle, or cough, urgent syndromes that may appear the end of life, palliative sedation, and the withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies. The content of the concise clinically focused volumes in the HPNA Palliative Nursing Manuals series provides a quick-reference in daily practice and is an ideal resource for nurses preparing for certification exams.

modalities. The single most important fact about breast cancer is the great variation in its natural history and its responsiveness to therapy from one patient to another. The clinician must integrate an assessment of the patient's likely course based on clinical and pathological staging and laboratory studies with objective evidence on the benefits of therapy. The primary aim of this book is to provide the clinician with the tools to do just that. Outcomes of clinical trials and details about commonly used drug regimens, drug dosage, and the expected side effects are summarized in generous tables and figures. Medical terminology has been defined and descriptions of the evolution in our thinking and understanding of the disease are often given to provide perspective in the interpretation of evidence from current studies for busy clinicians and trainees alike.

Since the efforts of Dame Cicely Saunders and the founders of the modern hospice movement, compassion has become a fundamental part of palliative care. In this ground-breaking book, international experts give their critical thoughts on the essence and role of compassion, in both palliative and hospice care over the past half-century. Compassion: The essence of palliative and end-of-life care provides insight into the motivations for, and practice of, compassionate palliative and hospice care, featuring the reflections of leading healthcare professionals, social workers, chaplains and educators. Chapters utilise case examples and first-hand experiences to explore the historical and contemporary discourse surrounding the concept of compassion in palliative medicine. This book is relevant to a multidisciplinary audience of palliative care practitioners, including undergraduate and graduate students in sociology, psychology and theology, and healthcare professionals in oncology and gerontology.

Wish to die statements are becoming a frequent phenomenon in terminally ill patients. Those confronted by these statments need to understand the complexity of such wishes, so they can respond competently and compassionately to the requests. If misunderstood, the statements can be taken at face-value and the practitioner may not recognise that a patient is in fact experiencing ambivalent feelings at the end of life, or they may misinterpret the expressed wish to die as a sign of clinical depression. Public debate about the morality and ethics of various end-of-life care options has exploded in recent years. However, it has never been sensitive to the finer aspects of clinical reality or the experiences of patients. The Patient's Wish to Die: Research, Ethics, and Palliative Care brings together that reality and the patient's voice, combining them with different research approaches. It presents the best available knowledge and research methodologies about patients' wishes at the end-of-life, together with a series of ethical views and a discussion about the clinical implications for palliative care. The book presents material in an open and unbiased manner whilst remaining sensitive to the spiritual and existential dimensions of dying, and to the different cultural views that provide meaning to the individual. Written by the best specialists and ethics scholars from around the world, including palliative care practitioners and end-of-life scholars from countries where assisted dying practices are legalized and from those where it isn't, The The Patient's Wish to Die: Research, Ethics, and Palliative Care will prove essential reading for all those working or studying in the field of palliative care.

Decisions about life-sustaining treatment are often ethically challenging for patients, surrogate decision-makers, and health care professionals. Providing safe, effective, and compassionate care near the end of life is a priority for health care organizations. In times of uncertainty, crisis, or reflection, and in efforts to improve health care for seriously ill patients, guidelines can help. This is the first updated, expanded edition of The Hastings Center's 1987 Guidelines on the Termination of Life-Sustaining Treatment and Care of the Dying, which shaped the ethical and legal framework for decision-making on treatment and end-of-life care in the United States. The new edition, the product of an authoritative consensus process, incorporates 25 years of research, innovation, and developments in law and policy. It summarizes the current framework for making good decisions about treatment and care and identifies educational and organizational goals for health care systems. It covers care planning, decision-making for adults and for children, care transitions, the determination of death, and the policies and processes that support good care at the bedside. It also addresses the psychological and social dimensions of care near the end of life, with attention to effective communication with patients and loved ones and among team members. This book is written for physicians, nurses, and other clinicians in hospitals, nursing homes, home care, and hospice. It is structured for ease of reference during difficult clinical situations and includes extensive practical recommendations supported by print and online resources. This book is also essential reading for clinical ethicists, ethics committee members, health lawyers, and medical and nursing directors. As the U.S. confronts the challenges of health care reform, an aging population, increasing technological capacity to extend life, and serious cost implications, The Hastings Center Guidelines are invaluable to educators, scholars, and policymakers.

In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Fishman shows how communicating better with patients about their pain can help physicians create safer and more effective treatment strategies. Listening to Pain offers physicians a wealth of practical guidance about asking the right questions and assessing patient responses, including: -What questions to ask pain patients when they first present with pain -Using functional goals as outcome measures -Educating patients about the risks and benefits of treatment -Documenting patient consent and compliance with treatment regimens -How to manage difficult patients

Informal caregivers - family members, friends, and other loved ones - are an essential, uncompensated and significantly burdened extension of the healthcare team. Rapid advances in cancer care, including new drugs and immunotherapies and more sophisticated diagnostic tools, have markedly improved the ability to medically extend lives and enhance survival. As patients are living longer, with today's shorter hospital stays and shift towards increased outpatient care, however, the demands placed on all caregivers and their needs have substantially increased. Cancer Caregivers reveals the field of Psycho-Oncology's exploration of the depth of complexities of caregiving experiences and identifies the vast expanses left to be understood. This text describes the characteristics and experiences of cancer caregivers based on their life stage, relationship to the patient, and ethnic group membership, as well as patients' disease and treatment type. It highlights the significant progress in research focused on the development and dissemination of psychosocial interventions for cancer caregivers, and includes in-depth case studies to illustrate their delivery and application. The text also explores the provision of support to caregivers in the community and the legal and ethical concerns faced by caregivers throughout the caregiving process. Cancer Caregivers offers both fundamental and practical information and is the essential resource for all healthcare professionals who work with patients and families facing cancer.

Palliative Care Perspectives is a guide to the art and science of palliative care that links real stories of illness with practical advice to delineate clinical practice in a way that reflects the daily concerns of clinicians. Clearly and compassionately written, this book emphasizes important topics often neglected in formal clinical training, including the history and evolution of palliative care in the United States, as well as how clinicians can better understand aging and dying from both a physiological and human perspective. Written by a recognized pioneer in the field of palliative care, each chapter highlights this human approach to illness with narratives and anecdotes drawn from decades of practice experience. This new edition features thoroughly updated research and citations, a new chapter on burnout and compassion fatigue, and a significant expansion of the topic of intercultural communication. Well-grounded in the academic literature, Palliative Care Perspectives is an ideal introduction to the emerging field of palliative care for care providers new to practice, as well as lay readers seeking to learn more about chronic and terminal illness, presented in a personal and accessible format.

This is a practical, accessible guide for nurses on the management and care of the dying and deceased patient. It outlines the practicalities and legal issues associated with death, the principles of caring for a patient who is dying, and the principles of dealing with death, both expected and unexpected.

"Care of the Dying & Deceased Patient" explores all the practical issues surrounding death, including symptom control, resuscitation, organ donation, how to break bad news, the last offices, cultural issues, post mortems and documentation issues. It also explores both the legal and ethical issues involved- including withholding/withdrawing treatment, assisted euthanasia, patient's property, wills etc.

SPECIAL FEATURESA practical guide to the management of the dying and deceased patientOf use to all nurses and nursing studentsAccessible and user-friendlyWritten by an expert in the field

Support for the family is a key component of palliative care practice and philosophy, with both patient and family construed as the 'unit of care'. However, there is not always formal acknowledgement of the importance of the family carer role, or that of friends, neighbours and other non-professional, informal carers. Consequently, health and social care professionals find carer support work particularly challenging. Symptom management, personal care, and administering of medications are just some of the tasks taken on by this group of non-professionals, and the impact of this role can have negative emotional, physical, financial and social implications on the care-giver. Furthermore, family carers consistently report unmet needs, and there has been a lack of intervention studies aimed at improving carer support.
This book therefore provides an evidence-based, practical guide to enable health and social care professionals to assess and respond to family carer needs. It also explores the wider sociological, policy, and research issues related to family carers and palliative care.

Caring for terminally ill patients and their families is challenging. Patients with life limiting illness require the skills of many professionals but also the support of their community. While most clinicians are comfortable in assessing a broad range of physical problems, it is often the psychosocial issues that prove the most complex. These issues range from psychosocial assessment to the treatment and care of patients with life limiting illnesses. Evaluating emotional, social and spiritual needs, in particular, requires excellent teamwork. This fully-updated and expanded new edition takes a comprehensive look at current practice and provision of psychosocial support as applied to a range of palliative care patients. A number of important areas are covered including community approaches of psychosocial care, neonatal palliative care, the provision of psychosocial care to families, the role of volunteers in supporting palliative care professionals, and the needs of the frail elderly, marginalised patients, and those with dementia. Including multiple case study examples, this highly practical text examines current literature and evidence to demonstrate the best research-based practice in psychosocial care. It is an essential resource for professionals working within hospitals and communities in the fields of medicine, nursing, social work, chaplaincy, counselling, primary care, and mental health.

The essence of nursing care continually exposes nurses to suffering. Although they bear witness to the suffering of others, their own suffering is less frequently exposed. This slim volume attempts to give voice to the suffering that nurses witness in patients, families, colleagues, and themselves. By making this suffering visible, the authors wish to honor it and to learn from it.
The audience includes nurses in all phases of training and practice - from students to educators to clinicians - in the wide array of settings and specialties in which nurses care for patients. The book offers nurses' colleagues in other professions - social workers, psychologists, chaplains, ethicists, and physicians - a rare window onto what it means to practice nursing.
Drs. Ferrell and Coyle are also the editors of Textbook of Palliative Nursing, 2nd ed (Oxford, 2006). Independently, they have worked more than 50 years in oncology nursing, caring for patients and working to improve the quality of care that patients receive.

800 million people live in Africa, a continent which covers 22% of the world's surface and encompasses some 50 countries. Conflict, poverty, endemic diseases, and lack of clean water pose serious challenges for the population, made worse by a rampaging AIDS pandemic. Huge loss of life has impacted dramatically on both health systems and social and family structures. As the attention of the world focused increasingly on Africa, the International Observatory on End of Life Care was commissioned to conduct a timely review of hospice and palliative care development across the continent. The Observatory undertook this review using an approach specially designed for resource poor settings. Information was collected against an agreed template to allow comparisons between countries and regions. As a result, an insight is given into the challenges, opportunities and successes faced by hospice and palliative care workers, country by country, throughout the 26 countries in Africa where a palliative care initiative is underway. Strategies and models of care are explored, and the development of palliative care is viewed from various standpoints including ethnographic, historical, ethnic, demographic and epidemiological perspectives. This is the first comprehensive reference focusing exclusively on palliative care and hospice development in Africa, and makes fascinating reading.

Blending personal insights from twenty-five years of hospice volunteering with contemplative social science research, this thoughtful and engaging book offers practical lessons about the transformative possibilities of compassionate end-of-life caregiving.

After author John Baugher's mother was murdered in 1987, he felt that he was fated to join her killer in life imprisonment--not behind bars, but behind psychological walls of unresolved grief and anger. Baugher turned to hospice volunteering as a way to channel his experience, marking the beginning of a twenty-five year journey of exploration--in both public hospices and prison hospice programs--and the possibility of discovering compassion and even humor in the face of death. In this beautifully written book, Baugher weaves together insights from his experience with those gleaned from interviews with dozens of hospice volunteers from widely varying backgrounds. "Caring for others at the end of life has shown me that affirming the humanity of others is crucial to my own joy and sense of vibrancy," writes Baugher. Contemplative caregiving can be a spiritual practice in its own right--a practice that parallels the benefits of mindfulness while extending them beyond the personal level to inspire compassionate shifts in families, hospitals, and broader spheres of society.