IAHPC BOOK REVIEWS
by Dr. Roger Woodruff
Palliative Care Book of the Month:
Whole person care
A New Paradigm for the 21st Century
TA Hutchinson (ed)
Springer, 2011
234pp
ISBN 978-1-4419-9439-4
RRP$ US 39.95, £35.00
Whole person care? Isn’t that what we do in Palliative Care? The answer is we should, but in busy day-to-day practice, we may not.
There are numerous examples of improved quality of life and lessened suffering, not necessarily associated with any improvements in the patient’s biomedical situation, that result from attention to whole person care and making the patient feel whole and meaningful.
This book draws together all the strands about whole person care, including what it is, how to do it, why it works, and how to teach it. The contributors are mostly people who have been associated with Balfour Mount’s unit at McGill in Montreal.
I would recommend this book to anyone who works in palliative care. I’m not sure about the ‘new paradigm’ bit, but this book certainly takes whole person care a step further. I think it is a wake-up call about the importance of whole person care and will empower you to do it better.
Other Reviews:
Pediatric palliative care: global perspectives
Knapp, Madden and Fowler-Kerry (eds)
Springer, 2012
457 pp,
ISBN 978-94-007-2569-0
RRP $US 209.00 £135.00
In her Foreword, Kathleen Foley says that upwards of seven million children are in need of palliative care services today. That is a staggering number and one fears the needs of the great majority are presently not being met. But things are changing. Here is a collection of reports about the development of pediatric palliative care from 23 different countries or regions around the world. The obstacles faced are both diverse and daunting—from lack of resources and essential medicines and skilled personnel, to a lack of awareness on the part of the public and the policymakers. The book is a tribute to all those whose vision and determination led to the establishment of pediatric services, and is a first-step to improving the provision of pediatric palliative care globally. It contains a wealth of information about overcoming barriers that will be invaluable for anybody trying to establish or further develop a pediatric palliative care program.
A patient-centered approach to medicine for the terminally-ill.
Irene. S. Switankowsky
University Press of America, 2012
89pp
ISBN 978-0-7618-5338-1
RRP $US18.99. £11.95
This book, written by a Canadian lecturer in Philosophy, is about decision making when caring for the terminally ill. The back cover informs me the book re-defines the physician-patient relationship, but I didn’t find anything new. She rails against paternalism (which I thought had been out of fashion for some time now) and the meddling of families. But the conditions she lays down, including a partnership-type relationship, effective disclosure, effective communication, etc, are hardly new. People with a special interest in bioethics may find this book of interest.
Roger Woodruff, MD (Australia)
April 2012
Dr. Woodruff is a Lifetime Member of the IAHPC Board and past Chair. His bio may be found at http://www.hospicecare.com/Bio/r_woodruff.htm
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Dr Roger Woodruff
IAHPC Bookshop Editor
210 Burgundy St, Suite 9
Heidelberg, Victoria 3084
AUSTRALIA
Note: Review copies become property of IAHPC and are not returned to the author. Only palliative care related books which are previously approved will be reviewed. Due to the large number of requests, we can't provide exact dates of when books will be reviewed.
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