Essay on Palliative Care

Introduction

Quality of living and quality of death both depend on several factors. This essay is focused on analyzing various factors which impact the quality of life and quality of dying. Through the analysis, how each factor impacting on death and life will also be evaluated. The impact of other factors such as legal, culture and religion in life will be explored and its contribution to life and death will be evaluated.

Part 1: Reflection

a) Factors affecting the concept of quality of life

Psychological condition: Psychological condition of a person is really important when it comes to getting a better life. Quality of life completely depends on the health condition of the person and psychology is an integral part of health. If a person has a good mental health condition, then it will definitely ensure a better quality of life. The person will be free from different mental disorders such as depression, dementia, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and others due to better psychological conditions (Kaur & Sharma, 2019). As a result, the person will be happier while living. Essay on Palliative Care

Health: Health here refers to the physical health of the person, health plays an immense role in providing a better quality of life. According to the studies, it has been found that multiple diseases gradually occur by increasing age (Dumurgier & Tzourio, 2020). For example, cancer, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and others are the most prominent observations among people with growing age. If the person is free from these diseases, then it will help the person to get a better life.

Economical condition: The economy is the main factor that helps people to get security in their life. For example, if a person is diagnosed with any major disease, then having a good economic condition ensures treatment for these diseases. Similarly, a person with a good economic condition is able to get all the desires in their life. Hence, having a strong economic condition always ensures a better quality of life.

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Education: Some of the studies have shown a positive correlation between the economic condition of a person and the educational qualification they are having (Stenberg et al. 2018). More precisely, if the person is educated then the economic condition of the person is more stable. An educated person knows about hygiene, maintaining a healthy environment, healthy food, and others. Educated people apply this knowledge in their life as a result, they can lead a quality life than others. Due to the maintenance of these factors, educated people are able to live longer than others.

Housing: Housing offers an environment for living, depending on the living environment quality of life highly influences. For example, people who are living in a house get a better quality of life than homeless people. If a house is designed in such a way so that it offers a proper vacuum system, and sun rays then the inside environment of the house ensures a better atmosphere for living. Vitamin D is consistent in the Sunshine and it’s really healthy for the skin (Hanel & Carlberg, 2020). A person can get better skin by maintaining a good housing environment itself.

b) Domains that contribute to the quality of dying

Family: Family plays a vital role in the quality of dying. The presence of family during bad times is highly preferred however, due to cultural characteristics most of the time, it has been found that people try to start their life separate from the family. Having family members around ensures a significant boost in psychology. People feel better when family members are around. Loneliness is one of the major reasons behind psychological disorders. Hence, spending time with family members ensures better mental health. The presence of family members during a deathbed help a person to fulfil all their desires as a result, the quality of death gets maintained.

Religiosity: Every religion and community have a certain belief when it comes to death. There are a number of rituals that need to be fulfilled once a person dies. Belonging to a region in which rituals are present help the person to get inner satisfaction. Similarly, having family members who will be associated with the ritual programs eventually fulfil the belief of the person with respect to the religion they belong to.

Health and illness: Health and illness is another major factor associated with the quality of dying. If a person is affected with any health issues, then their quality of life will deteriorate, eventually, it will reflect into the quality of death as well (Oliphant et al. 2018). For example, if a person is affected with dementia, then during the death the person will not be happy because he/she will be a victim of dementia. A person always needs to maintain good health in order to maintain the quality during death.

c) Gibb’s reflection cycle

Gibbs Reflection Cycle has six different stages, in this section of the essay, a self-reflection based on Gibbs reflective cycle will be presented.

Description: In this essay, I have evaluated a few factors which are associated with quality of life and quality of death.

Feelings: In the quality-of-life section, I have selected psychology, health, economy housing and education. I strongly feel that apart from education, every single factor has a direct impact on quality of life. Education does not ensure better health directly, therefore; I feel that factor does not really impact my quality of life. However, I am really thankful to get an opportunity to get educated.

Evaluation: As earlier mentioned, education is not a direct factor influencing the quality of life. In the quality of dying section, I have mentioned health and illness, religiosity, and family are highly dependent on the quality of death. However, the factor of religiosity is a bit subjective because some of the people might not be so concerned about religious belief at all.

Analysis: Through the discussion, I get to know that every factor is somehow interrelated and it impacts on quality of life and quality of death eventually. For example, if a person is diagnosed with cancer, then it will affect the psychological condition as well. Eventually, it will affect the quality of life.

Conclusion: Through the analysis, I would like to conclude that a person needs to be aware and need to take initiatives towards getting a quality life. If a person perceives his life and death is already destined then it will be very difficult for the person to get a quality life. Essay on Palliative Care

Action plan: As I get to know about the factors behind the quality of life and quality of death, therefore, I will be more focused on these factors. I will take care of my health with the highest priority and I will take action to develop my economical condition. Nevertheless, I will try to connect with my family till the end of my life so that I do not leave with any regret.

Part 2: Exploration

a) Legal aspects of quality of life and quality of dying

Euthanasia: Euthanasia is the practice of intentionally ending life. The practice is also known as assisted suicide; however, the practice has different laws in different countries. Mostly euthanasia is permitted to a person in extreme suffering. Several studies have supported Euthanasia by stating it’s better to end a life if the life is not quality enough for a living (Nie et al. 2021). Most people who are diagnosed with rare diseases and do not have proper treatment for these health issues look for Euthanasia practice. However, the practice is not permissible if the person is in depression due to loneliness and hopelessness. New Zealand has legalized Euthanasia through the End-of-Life Choice Act 2019 (Tsai & Menkes, 2020). The act has been designed in such a way so that it does not promote suicide but it helps people to get out from their extreme suffering.

Advanced care planning: Advanced care planning definitely has a positive impact on quality of life. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), some equipment is being sold commercially for individuals to make sure people get advanced care. Feeding tubes, ventilators and CRPs are some of the major aspects of advanced care planning. Having such opportunities will definitely help people to get better quality in their life.

Legal consent: The consent of the patient is really important while going for treatment. Here consent refers to the approval of the patient after knowing all the risks associated with the treatment (Maiden, Bone, & Fitzpatrick, 2021). Before the treatment, the patient will know about the area of risks. The patient will get the opportunity to choose to continue the treatment or they can easily opt-out from the process. Consent from the patient is also known as an ethical aspect associated with the healthcare sector in New Zealand.

b) Factors impact the concept of living and dying

Asian culture: Asia is highly diversified from the perspective of culture. Every nation in Asia consists of multiple cultural attributes, characteristics, and features. Asia consists of different religions such as Hinduism, Muslim, Buddhism, and others. When it comes to Hindu culture, it can be determined that they have a belief that God decides whether a person will be getting a quality life or not (Ho et al. 2018). However, in recent times, changes in the mindset have taken place. Now they are more focused on doing their work to get a better life rather than depending on the faith. In the case of Islamic culture, the belief that death is the call of God hence, they still do not believe that any factor could help people to get a better quality of death.

Māori culture: Māori culture is quite complicated, however; they are considered as the minor community. To ensure better health, Māori people like to stay with their family for the rest of their life. According to the studies, it has been found that Māori people get limited healthcare facilities from the New Zealand government. However, their belief in spirituality, staying with family and having a natural treatment for getting a better life.

Christian culture: In Cristian culture, quality of life and quality of death is well defined by bible. They believe every action is decided by the Jesus, in other words, sufferings of a person is the outcome of wrong action the person has been involved into. On the other hand, if a person is associated with good works, then quality of life of that person will be better. For example, if a person is maintaining a healthy lifestyle, then the quality of life of that person would be superior. Hence, the Christian culture is quite focused on the principles of bible and they believe the actions have high impact on education, health, economy, and others. real-life activities for getting a quality life (Rhoades, 2019).

c) Examples of religions towards the concept of living and dying

Hinduism: There are many opinions in the Hindu religion when it comes to deciding factors of quality of life and quality of death. The concept of karma is present in Hinduism, which signifies “What goes around comes around”, hence, if a person is associated with wrongful acts, then it will reflect on the person’s life (Back & Conway, 2020). Quality of life and death completely depends on the real-life acts of the people.

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Christianity: Principles of the bible are being followed in the Christianity religion. According to the bible, God is the decider of punishment and rewards. Based on the sins and good work, a person gets rewarded and punishment accordingly. The person gets rewards in the form of a better job, lifestyle, and better financial condition. On the other hand, a person might lose health if god decides to give punishment for the sins.

Islam: Islamic people have the concept god’s call when it comes to death. Sickness and poor economic condition are considered as the punishment of God within that Islamic religion. Some actions such as mortem investigation of dead bodies and organ donation are strictly prohibited in the Islamic religion.

Conclusion

Through the above discussion, it can be determined that quality of life and quality of death depends on several variables. These variables are controllable and a person could enhance the quality of their death and life by giving input. The essay also disclosed there are plenty of differences in the belief in different regions which impact on quality of life and death. My understanding has also been reflected through a Gibbs reflective cycle model.

References

Back, A., & Conway, L. (2020). Hinduism and reproductive decision‐making: Karma, Samsara, and the in‐between. Journal of genetic counseling, 29(4), 594-597. Retrieved from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jgc4.1273

Dumurgier, J., & Tzourio, C. (2020). Epidemiology of neurological diseases in older adults. Revue neurologique. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0035378720303908

Hanel, A., & Carlberg, C. (2020). Vitamin D and evolution: Pharmacologic implications. Biochemical pharmacology, 173, 113595. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006295219302795

Ho, P. J., Gernaat, S. A., Hartman, M., & Verkooijen, H. M. (2018). Health-related quality of life in Asian patients with breast cancer: a systematic review. BMJ open, 8(4), e020512. Retrieved from: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/8/4/e020512.abstract

Kaur, P., & Sharma, M. (2019). Diagnosis of human psychological disorders using supervised learning and nature-inspired computing techniques: a meta-analysis. Journal of medical systems, 43(7), 1-30. Retrieved from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10916-019-1341-2

Maiden, M. J., Bone, A., & Fitzpatrick, M. (2021). Physical restraint of patients in Australia and New Zealand intensive care units. Intensive Care Medicine, 47(2), 234-236. Retrieved from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00134-020-06287-w

Nie, L., Smith-Han, K., Iosua, E., & Walker, S. (2021). New Zealand medical students’ views of euthanasia/assisted dying across different year levels. BMC medical education, 21(1), 1-12. Retrieved from: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12909-021-02558-2

Oliphant, J., Veale, J., Macdonald, J., Carroll, R., Johnson, R., Harte, M., … & Bullock, J. (2018). Guidelines for gender affirming healthcare for gender diverse and transgender children, young people and adults in Aotearoa New Zealand. Transgender Health Research Lab.

Rhoades, F. (2019). The Origin of Christian Beliefs. Christian Faith Publishing, Inc..

Stenberg, U., Vågan, A., Flink, M., Lynggaard, V., Fredriksen, K., Westermann, K. F., & Gallefoss, F. (2018). Health economic evaluations of patient education interventions a scoping review of the literature. Retrieved from: Patient education and counseling, 101(6), 1006-1035. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0738399118300065

Tsai, B. C., & Menkes, D. B. (2020). New Zealand doctors and euthanasia-legal and practical considerations of the end of life choice act. The New Zealand Medical Journal (Online), 133(1522), 149-160. Essay on Palliative Care