Assessment and approach of quality of death and dying in the context of palliative care.

The article presents the results of a research whose objective is the assessment and approach of the Quality of the Dying and Dying process in the context of Palliative Care. Quality of death is conceptualized as a death free of distress and avoidable suffering for patients and their families, according to their wishes, and reasonably consistent with clinical, cultural and ethical standards (Institute of Medicine). Principal caregivers assess that the areas that relate to a good quality of death of their loved one on the way to saying goodbye to life are connectedness, transcendence, symptom control and autonomy, all of which help sustain people's identity until the last moment. The possibility of evaluating the factors that intervene in the quality of the process of dying and death will allow to know the health resources to optimize and be able to support dying patients and their families, enhancing the approach to help every human being die in peace. Psychology, as a discipline, addresses the vital project and the search for a new sense of life in the face of illness and finitude through specific techniques. The physical fact of death can destroy us, but "the idea of death" can help us live more fully; the consciousness of death must catalyze our experiences, rather than paralyze them (Yalom, 1984). Biography: Ona Albornoz is a psychologist by profession, graduated from the University of Belgrano (UB) and PhD from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) in Argentina. For more than 28 years she has been working in the public and private areas as a specialist in health psychology, specifically in Psycho- oncology, Pain Treatment and Palliative Care. She has postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Medicine of the UBA, the Canary Institute of Studies and Social and Health Promotion of Spain and the Faculty of Medicine Paris V in France. She completed an improvement internship in the Palliative Care and Pain Treatment Service of the Hotel Dîeu, Paris, France. Founder and general coordinator of the Argentine Institute of Health Psychology. She is an undergraduate and postgraduate professor at the UB, The Barceló University and the UBA. She is a member of the UBA Science and Technology team where research is carried out emotional intelligence and quality of life. Former Member of Oncology and Palliative Care Service of the Houssay Hospital of Vicente López (Accredited ESMO “European Society for Medical Oncology” Designated Center of Integrated Oncology and Palliative Care for the Period 2010-2012 on the occassion of the ECCO 15 and 34 th ESMO Multidisplinary Congress, Berlin, Germany, 20-24 Sept-2009). Member of the Pain Treatment and Palliative Care Service. German Hospital. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Author(s): Ona Albornoz

Abstract | Full-Text | PDF

Share This Article