A Happy Death: Differences between Western Countries and Japan

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  • 幸せな死に方――欧米諸国と日本の違い――
  • シアワセ ナ シ ニ ホウ : オウベイ ショコク ト ニホン ノ チガイ

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<p>Three of four Japanese people die in the hospital. In Europe and the United States, the proportion of hospital deaths is around 50%. Many elderly individuals die at home or in housing complexes with nursing care which they moved in. The place and cause of death clearly indicate the status of medical care and nursing care system of the country as well as the views about life, death, family, and ideals in the culture. Hospital deaths are typically lonely deaths caused by life-prolonging treatments. These are not extensions of life. In Europe and the United States, hospices, used during the time when an individual is about to die, are small housing complexes similar to a “second home.” Intensive palliative care along with life support is provided. In Japan, even in palliative care wards, 30% patients die because of distress and pain. Prioritizing the quality of life (QOL) creates the possibility of dying from old age with palliative care rather than after distressing life-prolonging treatments. Enhancing the quality of death (QOD) is a part of palliative care. Placing the individual patient first and foremost means fostering QOL and QOD. Families should not interfere with the patient’s wishes; however, the Japanese society has deep-rooted principles of family supremacy. However, measures to improve QOL and QOD are increasingly being incorporated owing to the rapid increase in death due to old age.</p>

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