• Login
    View Item 
    •   Home
    • UA Graduate and Undergraduate Research
    • UA Theses and Dissertations
    • Dissertations
    • View Item
    •   Home
    • UA Graduate and Undergraduate Research
    • UA Theses and Dissertations
    • Dissertations
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of UA Campus RepositoryCommunitiesTitleAuthorsIssue DateSubmit DateSubjectsPublisherJournalThis CollectionTitleAuthorsIssue DateSubmit DateSubjectsPublisherJournal

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    About

    AboutUA Faculty PublicationsUA DissertationsUA Master's ThesesUA Honors ThesesUA PressUA YearbooksUA CatalogsUA Libraries

    Statistics

    Most Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors

    Moral reasoning, self-transcendence, and end-of-life decisions in a group of community-dwelling elders

    • CSV
    • RefMan
    • EndNote
    • BibTex
    • RefWorks
    Thumbnail
    Name:
    azu_td_9912131_sip1_c.pdf
    Size:
    8.073Mb
    Format:
    PDF
    Download
    Author
    Decker, Ilene Marie, 1952-
    Issue Date
    1998
    Keywords
    Gerontology.
    Health Sciences, Nursing.
    Psychology, Developmental.
    Psychology, Cognitive.
    Advisor
    Reed, Pamela G.
    
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Publisher
    The University of Arizona.
    Rights
    Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
    Abstract
    A societal consensus has developed around the principle that decisions about life sustaining treatment should be guided by patient preferences. This view is supported by the American Nurses' Association, which promotes the patient's right to self determination in end-of-life decisions and the nurse's involvement in facilitating decision-making for patients making such choices. This idea is further evidenced by the Patient Self-Determination Act of 1991, where hospitals are required to ascertain whether or not the patient has an advance directive and to counsel patients about their rights to formulate an advance directive. Little is known about how people make decisions concerning their life in the midst of current biotechnical advances that extend life. This study attempted to gain insight into moral reasoning and other contextual, developmental factors that may account for elders' perspectives related to end-of-life care. Elders' perceptions about the end of life and the reasoning processes used to formulate preferences for treatment at the end of life were investigated. The advance directive decision, as one practice issue, was studied as an indicator of preferences for end-of-life treatment. Also, contextual factors (age, education, gender, self-reported health status, prior experience with an advance directive decision) and self-transcendence, regarded as an indicator of a developmental transition in older adults, were examined as correlates of moral reasoning about end-of-life choices as well as desires for end-of-life treatment. Findings revealed that older adults (N = 126) use an integrated and complex approach to reasoning in the context of end-of-life decisions. Self transcendence, an indicator of this unique characteristic of adult cognition, was significantly related to the level of integrated moral reasoning and may explain why reasoning about end-of-life treatment options takes on a more complex and integrated approach. In addition to elders' unique patterns of thinking, the context of their experiences impact preferences for end-of-life treatment. Level of education, prior experience with a life-threatening illness, and the decision to complete a living will are important indicators of the desired aggressiveness of end-of-life treatment. Thus, moral development in the context of end-of-life decisions may be explained in part through an understanding of a contextual-dialectic process.
    Type
    text
    Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic)
    Degree Name
    Ph.D.
    Degree Level
    doctoral
    Degree Program
    Graduate College
    Nursing
    Degree Grantor
    University of Arizona
    Collections
    Dissertations

    entitlement

     
    The University of Arizona Libraries | 1510 E. University Blvd. | Tucson, AZ 85721-0055
    Tel 520-621-6442 | repository@u.library.arizona.edu
    DSpace software copyright © 2002-2017  DuraSpace
    Quick Guide | Contact Us | Send Feedback
    Open Repository is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV
     

    Export search results

    The export option will allow you to export the current search results of the entered query to a file. Different formats are available for download. To export the items, click on the button corresponding with the preferred download format.

    By default, clicking on the export buttons will result in a download of the allowed maximum amount of items.

    To select a subset of the search results, click "Selective Export" button and make a selection of the items you want to export. The amount of items that can be exported at once is similarly restricted as the full export.

    After making a selection, click one of the export format buttons. The amount of items that will be exported is indicated in the bubble next to export format.