Palliative Care Essay on TheQuality of Life and Quality of Dying

Question

Task: Purpose of Palliative Care Essay:
• To investigate the concepts of quality of life and quality of dying, reflecting on legal, ethical, cultural, religious and personal viewpoints.
• To critically examine the holistic complexities of a life-threatening illness for the individual, whanau/family, community and the health professional’s role and responsibilities in response to the impact.
Part 1: Reflection
Analyse concepts of the quality of living and dying and reflect on your personal values and beliefs in relation to these life events. The quality of life is more than a ‘standard of living’, while the quality of dying is a personal perception of the dying experience. Both are a subjective integration of personal expectations and values.

a. Analyse five factors that affect the concept of quality of life.
b. Analyse three concepts or domains that contribute to quality of dying.
c. Taking into consideration the analysis of the concepts of living and dying in a and b, reflect on your personal values and beliefs in relation to the quality of life and dying Using Gibb’s reflective cycle.

Part 2: Exploration
Concepts that influence perceptions of life and death include, legal, cultural, and religious. In the role of a health practitioner, it is important to be aware of their influence and reflect on how they impact on your own values and beliefs.

a. Explain and reflect on three legal aspects of quality of life and quality of dying e.g., euthanasia, advance care planning, legal responsibilities.
b. How do cultural factors impact on the concept of living and dying? Discuss factors from prospective of three cultures including your own culture.
c. Provide examples from three religions how they approach the concept of living and dying.

Answer

Introduction
The palliative care essayaims to provide a view on “the quality of life and quality of dying” among the people. The paper also provides a suitable and compelling view on the legal than ethical, cultural than religious, and personal viewpoints on the quality of life and death. The paper also provides a statement on the “holistic complexities” of the “life-threatening illnesses for the individuals then family, as well as community, and healthcare professionals while responding to the impact.

Part 1 – Reflection
a) Analysing the factors impacting“the concept of quality of life”
Economic condition
The economic condition and the safety eventually depend on the capacity for selecting the services and the goods to fulfil the expectations. According to the economic resource, people can easily select the best possible quality of life(Haraldstad et al., 2019). The financial condition of people eventually ensures status stability for minimizing distress and enhancing the sense of security among the people.

Living environment
The environment for living is highly influential and effective for maintaining the quality of living among the people (Donkor, 2018). The home and surrounding is not just a place. Instead, it provides security, safety, and calmness to the people, and for that, the environment at home and surroundings should be stable and happy for the individuals.

Social interaction
Social interaction and lifestyle are some of the most influential factors in the present time for ensuring the quality of living. It helps people interact and share their views and ideas, which is one of the most effective ways to maintain a suitable lifestyle (McConachie et al., 2018). It directly influences people to live a quality lifestyle and maintain their values while dealing with other people or even in the workplace.

Education and facilities
It is one of the influential factors for living a quality life because education helps people to get economic stability and various facilities that an illiterate person cannot get in their life (Alsubaie et al., 2019). It is also a fundamental right of every people to get suitable education as this helps to build a strong nation and improve the lifestyle of the people.

Health condition
It is one of the vital factors that each person needs to achieve to lead a quality life. If health is good, one can achieve anything (Lane et al., 2019). Good health eventually promotes educational achievement, wealth, and stability at home and provides a stable mental condition for leading a suitable life.

b) Analysing domains contributing to the “quality of dying”
Family
It is the fact that spending more time with the family members helps to maintain the stress and helps to distract the people from the feeling of dying. In the case of family members staying or keeping togetherness with the dying person is a conflict as the pressure for fulfilling the need of the dying person is vast in some cases (Pérez-Cruz et al., 2017). But it is quite true that it is pretty satisfactory for a dying person to stay with the family members and at home before dying. It enhances the sense of satisfaction level within the dying patient.

Preparation for the death
The preparation for death is one of the most critical conditions where the person knows that they will die and try to live with satisfaction and comfort before their death. It helps the dying person and the family members mentally prepare themselves and provide the best surrounding for the dying person (Choi et al., 2018). It also helps to deal with the fear of death and the sadness of losing a dear person for a lifetime. It is quite a critical process as it shows the practical acceptance of death by the dying person and their family members.

Moment of dying
The moment of death for the palliative care patient has the less positive perspective for dying in a residential home or at the hospital. It can be seen that some people feel safe and secure and also trust the healthcare providers, while others do not feel comfortable with the hospital environment or care provided to them (Pivodic et al., 2018). It is a fact that people at the moment of dying always prefer to stay surrounded by family members and even at home, which provides them with a higher level of satisfaction at their death bed.

c) Reflect on personal values aswell as beliefs regarding the “quality of life and dying”
The quality of life and the quality of dying are interrelated in every way, like lifestyle, treatment, and much more. It can be seen that quality of life primarily refers to the activities like enjoying a happy family, then economic stability, then suitable connection with society, and much more (Pivodic et al., 2018). But the quality of dying is considered the situation where the people deal with the situation between life and death and try to find satisfaction during their last minutes. In my opinion, the quality of life is effectively related to an individual's health condition and mental satisfaction level. It is the primary reason why the quality of life is considered crucial. Individuals have diverse senses towards self-esteem than achievement and freedom and dealing with the various activities in day-to-day life. In my opinion, the quality of dying is also a crucial factor where people find their satisfaction level before dying. It is quite effective for both the patients and their family members because death is the universal truth, and also, it is deep grief as people lose their loved ones. Dealing with dying people and providing them with care is one of the primary concerns of the health care providers, mostly for the nursing department (Pivodic et al., 2018). It is the fact that quality of life is subjective as it primarily depends on the value along with the beliefs of individuals than their ambition and their surroundings. Still, the quality of dying is the situation directly related to the quality of life. If people spend quality of life, they tend to get a quality of dying experience but spending time with the family members and maintaining a togetherness with the people at their death bed.

Part 2 – Exploration
a) Descriptionwith reflection of the legal factors affecting the “quality of life and quality of death”
Advanced Care
The planning for advanced care eventually provides the view on the settlement of preferences for the future treatment within the patients and the healthcare providers for preparing the suitable activities (Liu et al., 2020). This planning process is beneficial for the family members of the patients to make a decision regarding treatment and other activities associated with quality of life and death.

Consequently, there is also risk for dealing with the condition is the expectation of the family members and patients towards the treatment that might alter. Some physicians might be unaware of the legality of advanced care planning. It might result in neglect for providing appropriate and effective care to the patients. In some cases, it can be seen that patients at their death bed with the advanced care planning express the treatment that some might like and some not because it will consist of feeding with tubes, then ventilations, and much more, which might be a difficult living for the person at their death bed.

Right to refuse treatment
The right to refuse the treatment is primarily given to the patients, and also in some cases, it is provided to the family members so that they can make the right decision for the patients. But this is a crucial factor because doctors serve the people in the best interest, and patients and their families might get other thoughts (Liu et al., 2020). For example, a coma patient with a life support system can live, but it depends on the family members whether to carry on the life support or stop them due to the economic condition. It becomes crucial because doctors always try to save and provide quality of life to their patients. In this type of coma, the right to refuse the treatment also works where they might get quality of death rather than staying in a life support system.

Euthanasia
It is a process where the individual terminates their life to atop their agony. It is one kind of suicide, and it is illegal in most places. The quality of life is hampered in this case and for that, people try to end their life to get a quality of dying experience.
b) Impact of a cultural factor on the concept of living and dying

Arab Culture
It can be seen that in this culture, the family members are highly involved in the medical decision. This culture provides the highest position to the oldest male family member, and their decision regarding medical treatment is considered the final decision (Schelin et al., 2018). According to this culture, eye contact or physical contact between people of the opposite gender is considered taboo. For that, the healthcare providers need to understand the activities of treatment carried out.

British Culture
In this culture, people are freer to get medical treatment and also maintain their quality of life in every sector. The people associated with this culture have become progressive. They allow both the male and female family members to decide regarding medical treatment and other facilities (De Boer et al., 2017). People effectively maintain the advanced care planning process so that they or their loved ones can get secure life and treatment, especially at their old age or with some chronic disease. It helps to enhance the quality of life and death among the people.

Maori Culture
In this culture, the people at the end of their lives are eventually cultured by the knowledge handed down from the connection with land and ancestor. In this culture, the elders prefer to die at their home, and according to this culture, it is highly essential to die and get buried at the ancestral home due to their spiritual satisfaction (Narsavage et al., 2017). Healthcare providers need to understand the various cultures and beliefs of the patients to provide convenient service to the people.

c) Impact of religions approach on the concept of life and dying
Hinduism
According to this religion, the cause and effect of every activity are directly associated and it is the primary belief of this religion. They believe that people are reincarnated and that the deeds of a past life can easily create a huge impact on the present life (Miranda et al., 2019). This also creates a high impact on people's quality of life and death. In this religion, people believe that death is a fate and that a life support system is not essential, but suicide is prohibited in this religion.

Islam
Muslims eventually believe in paradise, and they claim that the soul lives even after death, and till the day of judgment, the soul would stay in their graves, and after that, the soul can go either to heaven or to hell. In this religion, the post-mortem then organ donation is highly prohibited, and also the suicide is considered illegal in this religion (Rosa, 2018). They believe that quality of life and quality of dying depends on the activities of people in their lifetime for dealing with the situation.

Christianity
This religion considers that illness and death is punishment, and they get a sense of guilt if they are ill or on their deathbed. According to them, death is a result of sin and a temporary dissociation of the body and soul (Kavalieratos et al., 2017). Healthcare providers need to understand people's beliefs according to their religious activities to get a suitable and satisfying lifestyle and a quality of death.

Conclusion
It can be concluded that quality of life and the quality of dying are directly associated with each other. In this condition, the healthcare providers need to understand the people's values and beliefs to provide suitable and satisfying life and death to the people.

References
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