World media roundup – 11 December 2013

Categories: In The Media.

Older people and the right to freedom from suffering

Open Society Foundations – Voices

Older people are the most rapidly growing segment of the population worldwide. By 2050, the number of people over age 60 is expected to reach over 2 billion, exceeding the number of children. Eighty percent of this population will live in developing countries.

Dementia is the next global pandemic, says Aids prevention pioneer

The Guardian

Peter Piot has spent four decades investigating the world’s deadliest diseases. Now, the man who discovered the fatal Ebola virus, and whose pioneering work made HIV/Aids a global priority, is warning about the next pandemic – dementia.

Healing hands reach Central America as reflexology expert takes her skills abroad

UK- Bury Times

Reflexology advocate Betsy Keating has travelled to Central America from the UK to share her skills in reflexology with patients suffering with HIV at a hospice in Guatemala.

New Mexico Psychological Association says physician aid in dying is no kind of suicide

US- American Civil Liberties Union

The New Mexico Psychological Association (NMPA) filed an amicus brief in support of Morris v. New Mexico, the lawsuit filed by the ACLU of New Mexico and Compassion & Choices that asks the court to clarify that physicians who provide aid in dying to mentally competent, terminally ill patients do not violate New Mexico’s law against “assisting suicide.”

Early initiation of emergency department palliative care consultations resulted in significantly shorter hospital stays

US- New York University

A study reported in the Journal of Palliative Medicine found that initiating a palliative care consult in the emergency department reduced hospital length of stay when compared to patients who receive the palliative care consult after admission.

Medical research highlights palliative care contributions

US- The Hospitalist

Studies reveal cost savings, lower rate of rehospitalisations and longer survival among patients receiving palliative care.

Make-A-Wish helps girl with terminal illness publish a novel

US

A suburban Chicago teenager with cystic fibrosis who read book after book during the grueling hours that she spent having her lungs cleared every day has made her wish come true by becoming a published author.

Caring for the elderly in Malawi

ehospice Africa

Sister Cecily Bourdillon is a physician with the Medical Missionaries of Mary based in Malawi. She describes for ehospice the situation for many older people there.

Dying is a serious business – Michael’s story

ehospice Australia

As Michael’s primary carer I was a nurse, occupational therapist, physiotherapist and social worker. In reality, I was really just a wife who was witnessing the very painful and slow demise of the man that she had thought she would spend the rest of her life with.

The European Journal of Palliative Care: 20 years in print and in practice

In 2013, the European Journal of Palliative Care (EJPC) celebrates 20 years in print – while the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) marks its 25th anniversary. Dr Julia Riley, Editor, European Journal of Palliative Care; Clinical Lead, Coordinate My Care; Palliative Care Consultant, Royal Marsden and Royal Brompton Palliative Care Service, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK. Dr Riley continues the series of blog posts to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the European Association for Palliative Care.

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