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Biomedical subjects

Thomas E Finucane

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas E Finucane.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Group practice.

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Diagnostic Errors↗
PubMed2002

Planning for death but not serious future illness: qualitative study of housebound elderly patients.

OBJECTIVE: To understand how elderly patients think about and approach future illness and the end of life. DESIGN: Qualitative study conducted 1997-9. SETTING: Physician housecall programme affiliated to US university. PARTICIPANTS: 20 chronically ill housebound patients aged over 75 years who could participate in an interview. Participants identified through purposive and random sampling. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: In-depth semistructured interviews lasting one to two hours. RESULTS: Sixteen people said that they did not think about the future or did not in general plan for the future. Nineteen were particularly reluctant to think about, discuss, or plan for serious future illness. Instead they described a "one day at a time," "what is to be will be" approach to life, preferring to "cross that bridge" when they got to it. Participants considered end of life matters to be in the hands of God, though 13 participants had made wills and 19 had funeral plans. Although some had completed advance directives, these were not well understood and were intended for use only when death was near and certain. CONCLUSIONS: The elderly people interviewed for this study were resistant to planning in advance for the hypothetical future, particularly for serious illness when death is possible but not certain.

Advance Directives↗
PubMed2002

Care of patients nearing death: another view.

A person with an advanced, progressive, ultimately fatal illness faces multifaceted suffering. It is difficult to be sick. Uncontrollable deterioration of one's body can be horrible. Many people detest seeking help from others, yet nearly all want companionship in the face of death. The choice is hard, between certain death, even if it is promised to be comfortable and dignified, and hope, even if it is a burdensome treatment that offers small chance of limited benefit. Dying patients are often expected to make such painful choices. Perhaps what is most painful is to be dying. A person whose near future necessarily contains all this will often need a trusted, unhurried companion, acting with gentle advocacy and humility. This paper offers perspective and suggestions to such companions/advocates.

Aged↗