Abstract
As we extol the benefits of the worldwide revolution in longevity and quality of life, we also need to acknowledge the obvious—the inevitability of death. Denial of death has significant consequences in preventing and limiting care of the most vulnerable of our citizens, the dying. As we focus on enhancing the quality of life for our aging population, special attention should be given to the quality of life for dying patients and their families. There is increasing awareness of the need to improve the care of the dying at both national and international levels. The experience of dying has changed over the past several decades with many more people enduring prolonged death as a consequence of chronic and progressive disease.
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© 2000 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Foley, K.M. (2000). Gentle Closure. In: Butler, R.N., Jasmin, C. (eds) Longevity and Quality of Life. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4249-0_24
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4249-0_24
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-6907-3
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