Specialized Palliative and Hospice Care and the Importance of Mourning Our Nation's Veterans

AMA J Ethics. 2018 Aug 1;20(8):E787-792. doi: 10.1001/amajethics.2018.787.

Abstract

One aspect of palliative medicine that has been underexplored is the perspective of veterans either facing critical life-limiting illness or at the end of life. The needs of veterans differ not only because military culture affects how veterans cope with their illness but also because exposure-related factors (combat and environmental) differ between military branches. In this paper, we describe two cases involving end-of-life care for veterans with combat trauma and describe individualized approaches to their care.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Comparative Study
  • Personal Narrative

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Bereavement
  • Combat Disorders / mortality
  • Combat Disorders / therapy*
  • Epilepsy, Post-Traumatic / mortality
  • Epilepsy, Post-Traumatic / therapy*
  • Fatal Outcome
  • Grief
  • Hospice Care / standards*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Military Medicine / standards*
  • Palliative Care / standards*
  • Patient-Centered Care / standards*
  • Practice Guidelines as Topic
  • United States
  • Veterans*