Research suggests that caregivers to cancer patients may be particularly vulnerable to the experience of loneliness. The current study compared the loneliness experienced by those caring for hospitalized cancer patients who were receiving treatment, and caregivers of cancer patients in a hospice, on their death bed. Analyses revealed that there was no significant difference in the quality of loneliness experienced by caregivers of the two groups, but found a significant interaction effect with gender. Women attending to the ill scored higher on all subscales than men did, and those women attending to the ill patients scored higher than women attending to the dying on the growth and discovery, interpersonal isolation, and self-alienation subscales.
The cultural context of patient’s autonomy and doctor’s duty: passive euthanasia and advance directives in Germany and Israel
01/11/2010
Abstract The moral discourse surrounding end-of-life (EoL) decisions is highly complex, and a comparison of Germany and Israel can highlight the impact of cultural