World Media Roundup – 13 November 2014

German parliament debates assisted suicide

Deutsche Welle

The lower house Bundestag was scheduled to discuss the issue of assisted suicide for more than four hours in what is known in German parliamentary procedure as a “Thursday debate,” in which lawmakers debate an issue a matter of principle.

Breaking the barriers to effective palliative care

Oncology Nurse Advisor

Interview with Diane E. Meier, MD, about what nurses need to know about quality palliative care programs, the impending changes from the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and how to engage patients in palliative care discussions.

‘That Dragon, Cancer’ video-game sparks creative responses to cancer

Forbes

A Kickstarter campaign has been launched to complete the development of That Dragon, Cancer (a video-game about a child with cancer) on Mac/PC/Steam as well as Ouya.

Having a hard time finding a good place to die? Consumer Reports tells you where to go.

The Washington Post blog

The latest Consumer Reports takes on end of life care and recommends that families steer away from newer, for-profit hospices. But some experts say the influential magazine is mistaken to advise against for-profits.

Death and families – when ‘normal’ grief can last a lifetime

The Conversation

We know deaths in families have a profound psychological impact. Why, then, do we expect grief to be a tidy process?

Definitions and discoveries

End of life studies blog

Derek Doyle, Honorary President of the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care, on the early days of palliative care.

Ebola virus: clinical trials of three new treatments for disease to start in West Africa

The Independent

Clinical trials of three new Ebola treatments are due to start next month in West Africa, Médecins Sans Frontières has announced.

Strike complicates Sierra Leone Ebola battle

Aljazeera

Hundreds of staff claim government has yet to pay for risk allowances, putting an Ebola clinic at risk of shutdown.

WHO says Ebola is moderating in Guinea, Liberia

Wall Street Journal

More than 5,000 people have died from the Ebola virus disease, the World Health Organization said Wednesday, even as it suggested the spread of the disease in two of the hardest-hit countries was moderating.

No need to reinvent the wheel when we can learn from one another

ehospice International children’s edition

Barbara Gyura, President of Dóri House in Hungary, describes a recent visit to Rainbows Children’s Hospice in the UK where she and members of her staff got to see firsthand how a children’s hospice with a rich 20 year history operates.

Launch of Vision of Hope: integration of palliative care in chronic paediatric disease

ehospice USA

Scholars from the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics launch a curriculum for training diverse healthcare workers to apply palliative care principles to paediatric patients suffering from sickle cell disease and Duchenne muscular dystrophy.