PubMed · 16594429
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Lewis M Cohen. 2003. Pulling the plug.. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1478951503030190
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PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To describe spiritual issues addressed by users of a pancreatic cancer informational Web site. DESIGN: Qualitative, descriptive. SETTING: The patient and family chat room of Johns Hopkins Hospital's pancreatic cancer Web site. SAMPLE: 600 postings on the pancreatic cancer Web site. METHODS: Identification of categories and themes in Web postings using the constant comparison method of content analysis. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Spirituality, relationship of the person posting a message (poster) to the person with cancer. FINDINGS: Relationship of the poster to the person with pancreatic cancer was explicit in 68% (n = 410) of the 600 postings, and 83% of those 410 postings indicated that the poster was a family member. Issues of spirituality appeared in 19% (n = 114) of the 600 postings and addressed four themes: spiritual convergence, reframing suffering, hope, and acceptance of the power of God and eternal life. Six percent of postings were by family members reporting on the death of their loved ones, suggesting that the site also served a bereavement function. CONCLUSIONS: Family members of patients with pancreatic cancer sought and received spiritual comfort in a variety of forms in an Internet-based cancer chat room. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Nurse developers of cancer information Web sites should periodically assess how the sites are being used and apply the information to the refinement of the sites to better meet user needs. Further study is needed to develop and evaluate cancer Web sites as an evolving medium for providing spiritual support to family members of patients with life-threatening forms of cancer.
This paper presents a preliminary investigation of the press coverage of family assisted suicide in Britain during the mid to late 1990s. The newspaper articles we examine focus on court cases in which a family member had been charged with assisting a terminally ill relative to put an end to their lives. The paper aims to typify basic characteristics of the coverage and to explore their potential political implications. The observations reveal a consistently supportive stance towards family assisted suicide that is produced by depictions of dying persons and perpetrators as autonomous and conscientious individuals; by idyllic portrayals of family relations; and by praising judges for their lenient verdicts. Presentations of the law as a dated State system, as well as the marginalization of opposing voices, further enhanced the supportive message. We suggest that the commending of actors' self-reliance and the call for decreased State interference in personal affairs aligns with the neo-liberal spirit that has come into prominence in Britain since the 1980s. Within this context, we raise some questions regarding the broader political significance of such media representations.
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