Book review
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380 Geriatric Nursing Volume 24 Number 6 Hospice Care on the International Scene Dame Cicely Saunders and Robert Kastenbaum, editors 1997, Springer Publishing Company, 296 pages, hardcover, $48.95 Dame Cicely Saunders of St Christopher’s Hospice in London and Robert Kastenbaum have succeeded in their efforts to document the struggle to establish hospices and the concept of palliative care on the international scene. The universality of the death experience is discussed from the perspective of 24 different countries, with an emphasis on the cultural mores and needs of each. Each country and culture’s own particular issues are discussed through the independent reporting of those who pioneered their coun- try’s hospice efforts. The human experience of death and loss is crystalized by the anecdotes of the various writers. The reader soon discovers that families of all nationalities experience their losses in a similar manner. The wish for caring support and dignity for the terminal patient is itself universal. The book begins with an overview of the hospice move- ment, from the time when the only measurement of pallia- tive care was the worldwide consumption of morphine. The movement is tracked from the mid-1960s to the pre- sent. The individual writers report the global difficulty in establishing the hospice concept, which is then always re- placed by an enthusiastic reception from the families and patients served by it. The worldwide challenge of financial responsibility and solvency for hospice programs is also presented, along with a variety of solutions. The various individual governmental and cultural obstacles are clari- fied as they pertain to health care. The strong integral role of nursing in the successful hospice is well documented in this work. The multidisci- plinary team concept, vital for the hospice approach, is clearly shown in each cultural account. The individual ef- forts of each team member are respected as the team ap- proaches the complexities of patient and family needs. This book presents the subject of terminal care in a cul- turally sensitive manner while supplying the reader with much pertinent information. The many different aspects of caring for terminal patients of a variety of cultures are well documented. The text is clearly written and easily holds the reader’s attention. The reader with an interest in the hospice movement or in culturally sensitive nursing should consider this book vital to a greater understanding of those subjects. KATHY LEWIS, MS, APRN, BC, GNP , Woburn, Massachusetts. © 2003 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved. 0197-4572/2003 $30.00 + 0 doi:10.1016/j.gerinurse.2003.10.015 MARIANNE L AP ORTE MATZO, P HD, APRN, BC,FAAN, B OOK S ECTION E DITOR Book Review
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380 Geriatric Nursing Volume 24 Number 6
Hospice Care on the International Scene Dame Cicely Saunders and Robert Kastenbaum, editors1997, Springer Publishing Company, 296 pages,hardcover, $48.95
Dame Cicely Saunders of St Christopher’s Hospice inLondon and Robert Kastenbaum have succeeded in theirefforts to document the struggle to establish hospices andthe concept of palliative care on the international scene.The universality of the death experience is discussed fromthe perspective of 24 different countries, with an emphasison the cultural mores and needs of each. Each country andculture’s own particular issues are discussed through theindependent reporting of those who pioneered their coun-try’s hospice efforts.
The human experience of death and loss is crystalizedby the anecdotes of the various writers. The reader soondiscovers that families of all nationalities experience theirlosses in a similar manner. The wish for caring support anddignity for the terminal patient is itself universal.
The book begins with an overview of the hospice move-ment, from the time when the only measurement of pallia-tive care was the worldwide consumption of morphine.The movement is tracked from the mid-1960s to the pre-sent. The individual writers report the global difficulty inestablishing the hospice concept, which is then always re-
placed by an enthusiastic reception from the families andpatients served by it. The worldwide challenge of financialresponsibility and solvency for hospice programs is alsopresented, along with a variety of solutions. The variousindividual governmental and cultural obstacles are clari-fied as they pertain to health care.
The strong integral role of nursing in the successfulhospice is well documented in this work. The multidisci-plinary team concept, vital for the hospice approach, isclearly shown in each cultural account. The individual ef-forts of each team member are respected as the team ap-proaches the complexities of patient and family needs.
This book presents the subject of terminal care in a cul-turally sensitive manner while supplying the reader withmuch pertinent information. The many different aspects ofcaring for terminal patients of a variety of cultures are welldocumented. The text is clearly written and easily holdsthe reader’s attention. The reader with an interest in thehospice movement or in culturally sensitive nursingshould consider this book vital to a greater understandingof those subjects.
KATHY LEWIS, MS, APRN, BC, GNP,Woburn, Massachusetts.
© 2003 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.0197-4572/2003 $30.00 + 0doi:10.1016/j.gerinurse.2003.10.015
MARIANNE LAPORTE MATZO, PHD, APRN, BC,FAAN, BOOK SECTION EDITOR
Book Review
