Advance Care Planning Communicating About Matters of Life and Death [Paperback]

Advance Care Planning is a rich, insightful book of interest to a broad range or disciplines. It raises questions about why, in spite of so much knowledge and effort, we have not progressed in more effective and extensive use of ACP. --OMEGA: Journal of Death and Dying

This is a very substantive book that encompasses the various aspects of advance care planning, both prior to and after a diagnosis of a life-limiting disease. The realistic case studies help readers understand the complexities of decision-making by the individual and the family. --Doody's Medical Reviews

While advance directives hold a great deal of promise for ensuring self-determination and quality of life near its end, the majority of Americans face life-threatening illness without having completed effective advance care planning.. This volume recounts the history of advance directives, chronicling the evolution of an approach that initially focused on completing forms, to one that now emphasizes more comprehensive strategies for facilitating conversations about end-of-life care and planning for dying and death. It provides helpful strategies for initiating and guiding discussions among providers, patients, and their loved ones, easing the burdens of uncertainty, and improving the efficacy of surrogate decision making near the end of life.

Scholars and practitioners from a variety of disciplines provide a well-rounded view of the history and challenges of advance directives. Authors include palliative care physicians, nurses, social workers, grief counselors, educators, lawyers, psychologists, sociologists, and medical ethicists. The book shares successful strategies on how effective advance care planning can provide smoother transitions at the end of life and ensure better quality of living before death. It incorporates effective multidisciplinary, relationship-based models of advance care planning along with multidisciplinary perspectives to help caregivilC2