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Dementia and End-of-Life Decision Making: A Case-Based Approach to the Clinical Application of Bioethical Principles
Houghton, Lindsey C.
Houghton, Lindsey C.
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Thesis/Dissertation
Date
2019
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Urban Bioethics
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http://dx.doi.org/10.34944/dspace/3009
Abstract
People with dementia account for a growing number of patients requiring end-of-life medical care each year in the United States. The clinical application of bioethical principles is rarely more important than in the context of end-of-life decision making, and determining the appropriate clinical treatment plan can be difficult and complex for clinicians, patients, and medical proxies. While the current bioethical literature offers a wealth of information on the principles underlying ethical medical practice, real-world clinical scenarios are often fraught with confusion, complexity, and conflicting understandings of best practices. There is a need for clinical decision-making tools that are both comprehensive yet simple, and broadly-applicable enough to be clinically useful. This thesis explores the cultural factors that necessitate further discussion and understanding of the issues surrounding end-of-life care for people with dementia, uses a clinical case to demonstrate a real-world approach to the ethical complexities surrounding such care, and proposes a basic ethical decision-making algorithm with the potential for broad application by students and clinicians encountering complex ethical scenarios.
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