Intensive care, old age, and the problem of death in America

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ARTICLES

Intensive care, old age, and the problem of death in America

SR Kaufman
Dept. Of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco 94143-0646, USA. [email protected]

This article, part of a larger anthropological investigation of how death occurs in the hospital, explores the relationship of elderly deaths in the intensive care unit to the cultural conversation about the desire for "death with dignity." Based on participant observation, it provides three case studies that focus on the unfolding of events surrounding patient treatment, decision making, and family involvement. The cases are interpreted in the context of four sources of the culturally defined "problem" of death: (a) how medicine operates as the dominant conceptual framework for understanding both old age and death; (b) the power of the technological imperative to determine events; (c) ambivalence regarding end-of-life goals; and (d) the incommensurability of lay and medical knowledge.

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Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences

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				B. J. Daly End-of-Life Decision Making, Organ Donation, and Critical Care Nurses Crit. Care Nurse, April 1, 2006; 26(2): 78 - 86. [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Lacey Tube feeding, antibiotics, and hospitalization of nursing home residents with end-stage dementia: Perceptions of key medical decision-makers American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias, July 1, 2005; 20(4): 211 - 219. [Abstract] [PDF]

				D. Lacey Predictors of social service staff involvement in selected palliative care tasks in nursing homes: An exploratory model American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, July 1, 2005; 22(4): 269 - 276. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. R. Kaufman, J. K. Shim, and A. J. Russ Revisiting the Biomedicalization of Aging: Clinical Trends and Ethical Challenges Gerontologist, December 1, 2004; 44(6): 731 - 738. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. B. Happ, P. Tuite, K. Dobbin, D. DiVirgilio-Thomas, and J. Kitutu COMMUNICATION ABILITY, METHOD, AND CONTENT AMONG NONSPEAKING NONSURVIVING PATIENTS TREATED WITH MECHANICAL VENTILATION IN THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT Am. J. Crit. Care., May 1, 2004; 13(3): 210 - 218. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Lacey Tube feeding in advanced Alzheimer's disease: When language misleads American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias, March 1, 2004; 19(2): 125 - 127. [Abstract] [PDF]

				K. Proulx and C. Jacelon Dying with dignity: The good patient versus the good death American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, March 1, 2004; 21(2): 116 - 120. [Abstract] [PDF]

				T. Ahrens, V. Yancey, and M. Kollef Improving Family Communications at the End of Life: Implications for Length of Stay in the Intensive Care Unit and Resource Use Am. J. Crit. Care., July 1, 2003; 12(4): 317 - 324. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. E. HICKMAN Improving Communication Near the End of Life American Behavioral Scientist, October 1, 2002; 46(2): 252 - 267. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. R. Kaufman A Commentary: Hospital Experience and Meaning at the End of Life Gerontologist, October 1, 2002; 42(90003): 34 - 39. [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. S. Drought and B. A. Koenig "Choice" in End-of-Life Decision Making: Researching Fact or Fiction? Gerontologist, October 1, 2002; 42(90003): 114 - 128. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. Becker Dying Away From Home: Quandaries of Migration for Elders in Two Ethnic Groups J. Gerontol. B. Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci., March 1, 2002; 57(2): S79 - 95. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. C. Hays, A. N. Galanos, T. A. Palmer, D. R. McQuoid, and E. P. Flint Preference for Place of Death in a Continuing Care Retirement Community Gerontologist, February 1, 2001; 41(1): 123 - 128. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				K. E. Steinhauser, E. C. Clipp, M. McNeilly, N. A. Christakis, L. M. McIntyre, and J. A. Tulsky In Search of a Good Death: Observations of Patients, Families, and Providers Ann Intern Med, May 16, 2000; 132(10): 825 - 832. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]