Author: Geert Pousset
Date: 02-06-2010
Promoters: Prof. dr. Freddy Mortier
Co-Promotors: Prof. dr. Luc Deliens and Prof. dr. Johan Bilsen
SUMMARY OF THE DISSERTATION
The death of a child is probably one of the most devastating and traumatic experiences parents, or anyone involved, can face. Children’s end -of-life care poses many complex challenges to professional caregivers. These ethical and clinical challenges become even more pronounced when decisions are considered that may impact on the length of life, such as non -treatment decisions, intensified alleviation of pain and symptoms and euthanasia.
In this book, four original studies are presented and discussed which focus on a range of relevant topics in the field of children’s end -of-life care. These topics include: place of death, attitudes of adolescents and physicians towards end -of-life decisions, the prevalence of end -of-life practices and decision -making prior to these practices.
