As a matter of practical reality, what role patients will play in decisions about their health
care is determined by whether their clinicians judge them to have decision-making capacity …

Mental health professionals have focused attention on the psychiatric sequelae of criminal
victimization. This article compares the experience of white collar and violent crime victims …

The case of Terri Schiavo resulted in substantial media attention about the use of artificial
nutrition and hydration (ANH) especially by percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG). In …

Background Physician-assisted suicide was legalized in Oregon in October 1997. There are
data on patients who have received prescriptions for lethal medications and died after taking …

BACKGROUND: To improve pain management, the Veterans Health Administration
launched the “Pain as the 5th Vital Sign” initiative in 1999, requiring a pain intensity rating (0 …

Background and Methods Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neuromuscular disease
that causes gradual paralysis, respiratory failure, and death, usually within three to five years …

Background: Depression is the most common psychiatric disorder in long-term dialysis
patients and is a risk factor for morbidity and mortality. An efficient and valid method of …

Background: Debates over legalisation of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) or euthanasia
often warn of a “slippery slope”, predicting abuse of people in vulnerable groups. To assess …

Background Voluntary refusal of food and fluids has been proposed as an alternative to
physician-assisted suicide for terminally ill patients who wish to hasten death. There are few …

Objectives: 1) To determine the prevalence of pain, suffering, poor quality of life, depression,
and hopelessness in people with ALS, and the correlates of suffering and poor quality of life; …