Document Detail


Signs of life and signs of death: brain death and other mixed messages at the end of life.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  18469294     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Brain death is a medical, legal and cultural category constructed to fill an important need created by evolving medical technologies and practices. However, managing life and death via organ transplants and brain death criteria is not without controversy; there remains much confusion and ambivalence in both lay and medical populations regarding both organ donation and the diagnostic category of brain death. By way of a case study of cranial trauma taken from a larger study of bereaved parents, this article discusses how, from a parent's perspective, brain death and organ donation are neither morally nor medically straightforward concepts. The case study presented in this article demonstrates the necessity for more research and clinical training in communication issues regarding brain death and end-of-life care with families in critical care situations.
Authors:
Mary Ellen Macdonald; Stephen Liben; Franco A Carnevale; S Robin Cohen
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Case Reports; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Journal of child health care : for professionals working with children in the hospital and community     Volume:  12     ISSN:  1367-4935     ISO Abbreviation:  J Child Health Care     Publication Date:  2008 Jun 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2008-05-12     Completed Date:  2008-08-29     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9806360     Medline TA:  J Child Health Care     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  92-105     Citation Subset:  N    
Affiliation:
Insituttes of Health Research New Emerging Team: Family Caregiving in Palliative and End-of-life Care, Montreal, Canada. mary.macdonald@mcgill.ca
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Attitude to Death*
Attitude to Health*
Bereavement
Brain Death / diagnosis*,  legislation & jurisprudence
Canada
Child
Communication
Craniocerebral Trauma / diagnosis
Critical Care / psychology
Female
Frustration
Health Services Needs and Demand
Hospitals, Pediatric
Humans
Intensive Care Units, Pediatric
Nursing Methodology Research
Parents / psychology*
Professional-Family Relations
Qualitative Research
Questionnaires
Terminal Care / ethics,  organization & administration,  psychology*
Time Factors
Tissue and Organ Procurement* / ethics,  organization & administration

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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