Blog-Off II Entry: Compare Hospice Care

The inequality in hospice facilities is great when you compare our country with other countries. I recently had a conversation with a friend about end of life care in her native country of Macedonia. Throughout her childhood, Macedonian's traditionally cared for their own. The elderly and others at end of life always stayed in their own homes with family by their sides during their final days. There was little consideration given to alternative care since the majority of homes were multi-generational and extended families typically lived under one big roof.

The Macedonian population, and the people of other Balkan countries, have become more transient. Young adults are more apt to leave their childhood homes now, and travel to Australia and the United States of America for better educational opportunities, thus leaving no one to care for the elderly. Often, they never return home to reside with their extended families.

What is lacking in the entire Balkan region is education about end of life care. If hospice care assistance is needed in a household, a doctor trained as a general medical practitioner assists. Although qualified to provide medical care, there has been no training specific to gerontology or end of life issues. In our country, medical students can choose a field such as gerontology and be well prepared for their specialty. Thus, it is difficult not to compare quality of care.

As documented in the film "Pioneers of Hospice: Changing the Face of Dying" www.pioneersofhospice.org strides have been made in educating medical students about end of life care.  The need for education about hospice applies to all of mankind and educational opportunities should be equal between countries.

After all, no matter what a person's ethic heritage may be, end of life care must include dignity for the patient. This is a fundamental right.

Comments

[Clenbuterol]

Thank you that you've touched the theme about which people prefer to keep silence!

[soft cialis]

Attention to the elderly should be a priority for all countries and we see this not being in this way ... is a global problem to be solved

[vesna_palmer@yahoo.com]

Sue, I agree; care for the elderly is becoming a worldwide concern. In many Western countries the elderly population is overtaking the younger generation. As a result, a change of attitude and thought geared to our ageing population as well as to their needs will become very necessary.

[Marc R Leonard]

Sue-
Great blog entry.
Many Americans neglect to reflect on health care, and in this case hospice care, in foreign countries. You make a great point that many people leaving their third world countries have no ambitions of going back, leaving those aging alone. Care for the elderly should be a worldwide concern, no matter what country. As you said, it is a fundamental right.

[Marie Matta]

Thank you, Sue, for another interesting article about hospice care. It's good to learn about practices in other countries and to reflect on cultural differences in attitudes towards ageing and aged care.

[Sam Diener]

Sue -- I don't believe that I have commented on any of your articles yet. This is a great point/tip for thought. My grandma is 90 years old, and we wanted her to have the best care possible -- not some nursing home where patients are ignored. We found that a lot of the best care was given by caretakers from other countries, as this is a practice that they have been raised with, and value VERY highly!

Sam