Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care in Hong Kong

Download or read book Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care in Hong Kong written by Richard Fielding and published by Hong Kong University Press. This book was released on 1999-11-01 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the evidence-base for clinical practice in the management of life-threatening diseases and care at the end of life increases, it is apparent that psychosocial factors play a most profound role, influencing outcomes at every level from quality of life and satisfaction with clinical services through to duration of survival and mortality. This book documents some, but by no means all, of the developments that have occurred in the past decade in the area of psychosocial oncology and palliative care in Hong Kong. Contributions describing interventions by practitioners involved in service development in nursing, social work and clinical psychology, are complemented by chapters describing academic research and theoretical perspectives. The unique cultural mix of Hong Kong is given rich emphasis in the adaptations made by practitioners and academics to the interventions and theoretical issues outlined. As both a documentation of the efforts of some of those who helped psychosocial oncology and palliative care evolve in Hong Kong, and as a reflection of the need to more critically evaluate the impact of intervention efforts in health care, this volume provides a valuable resource. Nurses, social workers, psychologists and doctors involved in delivering or planning cancer treatment or palliative care will find this book useful. This book challenges many attitudes prevalent in Hong Kong and will, we hope, begin to break some of the taboos that continue to generate unnecessary suffering among the people cared for by our health care systems. The valuable experience documented in these pages can help others build the next generation of services to those with life-threatening illness and those at the end of life.