End of Life

Is anyone listening to Canada’s caregivers?

Caregivers are essential, but they feel overwhelmed and undervalued. National and provincial strategies focusing on supporting them are needed.

Palliative pixie dust

Just as Disney World has grown and evolved, so must palliative care. The time for Ontario to update palliative care into the 21st century may have arrived.

‘Technology to help bridge the gap’: Smart homes and sensors ease caregiver burden

Smart home technology has become ubiquitous in recent years. Now researchers in Ottawa are finding ways to use this same technology to aid health-care workers, family caregivers, and allow patients to age in place.

 ​​MAiD mental-health debate should be about ‘agency’, not ‘autonomy’

I do believe that the option of MAiD may be good for a very small number of patients. However, I believe the issue is not about “autonomy” but “agency.”

Psychiatry’s cognitive dissonance problem

Ottawa has decided to delay legislation that would expand MAiD to those with mental illness. But having a mental illness should not preclude one from decision-making related to suffering and end-of-life care.

Hospice care, not hospital beds: Investing in palliative care will help solve the health-care crisis

6,000 patients in Ontario currently need an “Alternate Level of Care” (ALC). They do not need to be in hospital, but there is nowhere safe for them to go. Government investment in palliative care is a crucial part of the solution.

The key to living longer and better? Dying at home

Despite our preferences, most Canadians do not have the privilege of dying at home. Although it is not possible to guarantee a good death, it is possible to reduce your risk of a bad death by thinking and talking about end-of-life.

The gift of a better death

Canadians need universal and equitable access to high-quality palliative care. It’s time to talk about death and dying more openly and ask ourselves: What is a good death?

Plan on ‘aging in place’? Start early and be patient

Alcina Sung and the Togethering team are compiling resources that may better educate families, designers and developers on accessibility considerations and other resources to make aging at home a reality for as long as possible.

The ABCs of combating ageism

We all need to rethink aging. Not only do our beliefs about aging play an essential role in the aging process, but changing these beliefs is not as hard as we might think.

The Plan to Stay Open: Relief for our beleaguered health-care system or a move to further privatization?

Ontario’s Plan to Stay Open, a five-point strategy aimed at “health-care system stability and recovery,” has been the subject of much debate since its final release in August. We asked a panel of experts what they thought about the plan. Here's what they had to say.

Ten health literacy principles cancer patients need to know

A medical oncologist describes ten health literacy principles to help cancer patients be informed participants in important treatment decisions.

An Excerpt from Death Interrupted

Chapter 5 of Death Interrupted: "Declaring Death: Who Decides When the End Has Arrived?"

Interview with the author: Blair Bigham

Healthy Debate sat down with Dr. Blair Bigham to talk about his experience writing Death Interrupted.

The right to die: Should MAiD apply to those whose sole condition is mental illness?

With the expansion of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) to include those whose sole condition is mental illness fast approaching, we asked a panel of experts whether they felt this was a move in the right direction — and what they hope to see moving forward.

On mentors: Honouring the legacy of a palliative care specialist

Gone but not forgotten: Darren Cargill honours his mentor in palliative care, Ciaran Sheehan, for National Hospice and Palliative Care Week.

Advance care planning? Your future self might not thank you

Advance care planning takes for granted that any wishes about my care that I made in advance should guide the treatment I get when I'm incapacitated. But what if they actually shouldn't – because when incapacitated, I'm not the same person?

Mental health and MAID: An ongoing challenge

Parliament is looking into offering MAiD to people whose only underlying condition is a mental illness. But this might be premature. After all, shouldn't we first improve mental health care in Canada?

Healing through community: Reflecting on collective grief from COVID-19

We are grieving loss of life on a mass scale at a time when pandemic restrictions have disrupted our customary death rituals and traditions. Could an initiative called The Reflection Room help LTC residents and others cope with their grief?

‘A second layer of loss’: Pandemic has changed how we grieve for our loved ones

For many people grieving the loss of a loved one during COVID-19, public-health restrictions on death-related rituals like funerals have created a "second layer of loss," taking an emotional and spiritual toll.