Mensch und Endlichkeit

Modern end-of-life care is being increasingly characterised by institutionalisation, economisation and rapid technological advancement. Compiled in three parts, the contributions in this anthology explore whether guaranteeing a person’s individuality and dignity is at all possible during the final stages of their life under these circumstances. The book’s first part discusses the context of end-of-life institutionalisation from a scientific perspective, spanning a wide range of fields from sociology to political science and jurisprudence to age studies. In the second part, the process of institutionalisation within healthcare structures and of healthcare regulations (i.e. legal representation at the end of one’s life and guidelines for palliative sedation) is explored in terms of the conflicting priorities of satisfying individual needs and meeting standardisation requirements. The final part questions the boundaries of institutionalisation by discussing the challenges faced during holistic care and when patients on their deathbeds become delirious. With contributions by Anna Durnová, Christof S. Eisl, Angelika Feichtner, Reimer Gronemeyer, Ulla Kriebernegg, Elisabeth Medicus, Karin Reinmüller, Walter Schaupp, Willibald J. Stronegger, Dietmar Weixler.