Living with Ageing and Dying

Merryn Gott joined the University of Auckland in 2009 as Professor of Health Sciences in the School of Nursing. Her PhD is in gerontology and over the last 12 years she has developed an international programme of research exploring palliative and end of life care for older people. She currently holds grants from the Department of Health, the Health Research Council of New Zealand, the Economic and Social Research Council, BUPA, as well as local charities. She has published over 70 journal articles and currently serves on the Editorial Boards of Progress in Palliative Care and the British Medical Journal (Supportive and Palliative Care).Christine Ingleton is Professor of Palliative Care Nursing in the School of Nursing & Midwifery at the University of Sheffield. She has contributed to 30 research grants and awards totalling over £3.5 million. She has published over 90 outputs in peer reviewed journals and contributed to 6 books on health services research. She has edited 2 best-selling research based textbooks on end of life care. She is Fellow of the European Academy of Nursing Science and Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She currently serves on the British Journal of Community Nursing and the British Medical Journal (Supportive and Palliative Care).

The editors state that their intention was to open up the issues of ageing and end-of-life care to critical reflection and debate. They have achieved their aim and produced a balanced and thoughtful book that will be relevant to generalists as well as specialists, and also perhaps to social workers. The contributors have clearly and coherently set out where we are now in relation to palliative care and ageing. The scale of the change needed to improve policy and professional practice is daunting, but ultimately this is a book full of hope and optimism. It is the first step on a journey to improving the way that we care for people as they age and in the final phase of life.

• Introduction ; SECTION 1 - WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT DYING IN OLD AGE? ; 1. International trends in circumstances of death and dying amongst older people ; 2. The care of older people at the end of life: an historical perspective ; 3. Anti-ageing and scientific avoidance of death ; 4. The challenges of health technology for ageing and dying ; 5. The disadvantaged dying: ageing, ageism and palliative care provision for older people in the UK ; 6. What do we know about the congruence between what older people prioritise at the end of life and policy and practices? ; SECTION 2 - WHAT CAN A PUBLIC HEALTH PERSPECTIVE BRING TO IMPROVING THE END OF LIFE EXPERIENCE FOR OLDER PEOPLE? ; 7. Health promoting palliative care and dying in old age ; 8. User and community participation at the end of life ; 9. Advance care planning: international perspectives ; 10. New public health approaches to address diversity and end-of-life issues for older people? ; 11. Loss and bereavement in older age: developing community-based bereavement support ; SECTION 3 - INVOLVING CARERS AT THE END OF LIFE ; 12. The changing profile of the family caregivers of older people: a European perspective ; 13. Needs, access and support for older carers ; 14. Family carers, palliative care and the end-of-life ; 15. Costs of family caregiving ; 16. Workforce development: an international perspective on who will provide care ; SECTION 4 - THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PLACE AT THE END OF LIFE ; 17. Place matters: an exploration of the role of physical environment in end of life care ; 18. Improving care for older people living and dying in long term care settings: a whole system approach ; 19. The development and implementation of evidence based palliative care guidelines for residential care: lessons for other countries ; 20. Improving environments for care at the end of life in hospitals ; SECTION 5 - MOVING FORWARD: A DEBATE ABOUT PRIORITIES FOR RESEARCH AND SERVICE DEVELOPMENT ; 21. End of life care for older people with dementia: Priorities for research and service development ; 22. Evidence, evidence and evidence: future priorities for research and service development in improving palliative care for older people ; 23. Priorities for research and service development in primary care to improve end-of-life for older people ; 24. Priorities for specialist palliative care: an Australian perspective ; 25. Inter-disciplinary perspectives ; 26. Workforce capacity issues: a New Zealand perspective