How is the concept of patient care adapting in response to rapid changes
in healthcare delivery and advances in medical technology? How are
questions of ethical responsibility and social diversity shaping the
definitions of healthcare?In this topical study, scholars in
anthropology, nursing theory, law and ethics explore questions involving
the changing relationship between patient care and medical ethics.
Contributors address issues that challenge the boundaries of patient
care, such as: - HIV-related care and research- the impact of new
reproductive technologies- preventative healthcare- technological
breakthroughs that are changing personal-caring relationships.Chapters
range from a consideration of the practicalities of nursing and family
healthcare to a debate about 'universal human needs' and patients'
rights.This book is a provocative exploration of the ways in which
healthcare models are socially constructed. It will be of interest to
policy-makers, medical practitioners and administrators, as well as
students of sociology, anthropology and social policy.