Palliative care, ageing and spirituality : a guide for older people, carers and families / Elizabeth MacKinlay.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

MacKinlay, Elizabeth, 1940-

Contributor:

Samuel Bellet Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Terminal care.

Palliative treatment.

Caregivers.

Death.

Spirituality.

Physical Description:

141 pages ; 22 cm

Other Title:

Palliative care, aging and spirituality

Place of Publication:

London ; Philadelphia : Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2012.

Summary:

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 these groups, 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. Book jacket.

Contents:

Introduction : about growing older, dying, and death

Grief and loss : a part of life

Fear of dying

The final life career : is this only a time of waiting for death? or is there something more?

Acceptance that death will come

Pain, distress, and suffering

Prayer

Responding to meaning : symbol and ritual

Transcendence in the process of death and dying

Healing of relationships

Intimacy and dying

Dementia and dying

Ethical and moral issues in death and dying

The final days and hours of the journey

Learning to live without my partner.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Samuel Bellet Book Fund.

ISBN:

9781849052900

1849052905

OCLC:

755080481