Jan 25, 2022 06:11 PM
(This post was last modified: Jan 25, 2022 06:12 PM by C C.)
https://bigthink.com/health/best-countries-to-die/
KEY POINTS: Researchers conducted an international survey to determine what constitutes good end-of-life care and which countries are the best at providing it. They scored 81 countries, most of which earned a grade of "C" or below for their palliative care. The United Kingdom ranked first. The U.S. ranked 43rd [Canada #22]. Higher income, universal health coverage, and wide availability of opioids for pain relief were generally associated with better scores.
INTRO: Death is an inevitable part of life — a mysterious climax that all humans face, evoking wonder and trepidation. That’s why dependable end-of-life care is so vital. While only some of us break bones, develop cancer, or catch an infectious disease, we all die eventually. To depart with dignity in relative comfort shouldn’t be a rare privilege.
Regretfully, new research published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management shows that many countries do not offer their citizens a good death.
Eric Finkelstein — a professor of health services at the Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, and the Executive Director of the Lien Centre for Palliative Care — led an international team of researchers to conduct a sweeping analysis of countries’ end-of-life (palliative) care. Finkelstein and his colleagues first set out to characterize quality end-of-life care, reviewing 309 scientific articles to determine the factors involved. A few that they identified included:
• The places where health care providers treated patients were clean, safe, and comfortable.
• Health care providers controlled pain and discomfort to patient’s desired levels.
• Health care providers provided appropriate levels and quality of life extending treatments.
• Costs were not a barrier to a patient getting appropriate care.
The researchers settled on 13 factors in total. They then surveyed 1,250 family caregivers across five different countries who had recently looked after a now-deceased loved one to ascertain the relative importance of each indicator. Here’s how the factors ranked... (MORE - details)
KEY POINTS: Researchers conducted an international survey to determine what constitutes good end-of-life care and which countries are the best at providing it. They scored 81 countries, most of which earned a grade of "C" or below for their palliative care. The United Kingdom ranked first. The U.S. ranked 43rd [Canada #22]. Higher income, universal health coverage, and wide availability of opioids for pain relief were generally associated with better scores.
INTRO: Death is an inevitable part of life — a mysterious climax that all humans face, evoking wonder and trepidation. That’s why dependable end-of-life care is so vital. While only some of us break bones, develop cancer, or catch an infectious disease, we all die eventually. To depart with dignity in relative comfort shouldn’t be a rare privilege.
Regretfully, new research published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management shows that many countries do not offer their citizens a good death.
Eric Finkelstein — a professor of health services at the Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, and the Executive Director of the Lien Centre for Palliative Care — led an international team of researchers to conduct a sweeping analysis of countries’ end-of-life (palliative) care. Finkelstein and his colleagues first set out to characterize quality end-of-life care, reviewing 309 scientific articles to determine the factors involved. A few that they identified included:
• The places where health care providers treated patients were clean, safe, and comfortable.
• Health care providers controlled pain and discomfort to patient’s desired levels.
• Health care providers provided appropriate levels and quality of life extending treatments.
• Costs were not a barrier to a patient getting appropriate care.
The researchers settled on 13 factors in total. They then surveyed 1,250 family caregivers across five different countries who had recently looked after a now-deceased loved one to ascertain the relative importance of each indicator. Here’s how the factors ranked... (MORE - details)
