Bioethical aspects of palliative care

Abstract:

Palliative care is not only about managing symptoms. The term “palliative care” implies a holistic approach to the patient and includes not only physical, but also psychological, social and spiritual aspects of care. By describing bioethics as a science that aims at raising awareness of the need for rational and careful approach toward biological and cultural development and helping people to do so, the “father” of bioethics, Van Rensselaer Potter, biochemist and oncologist, wanted to draw attention to the fact that ethical values cannot be separated from biological facts. Therefore, by using bioethics, he advocated for the development of special ethics – the ethics of nature, ethics of population, ethics of urban life, ethics of old age – which would take into account biological values as well as facts. It is in palliative care, care for the dying, where awareness and ethics of Croatian health care today is being tested: is our approach to the dying truly ethical? 

Key words:
bioethics; hospice care; hospices; palliative care