Focused Issues On Dignified Burials

Psychological, social, and spiritual care is as important as physical care at the end of life. Yet caregivers often feel ill-equipped to give that nonphysical care. This book shows how to do it. The book addresses all caregivers who attend dying patients: doctors, nurses, chaplains, clergy in the pastorate, social workers, clinical psychologists, family caregivers, and others. It covers such topics as the functional and emotional trajectories of dying; the varied approaches of patients and caregivers to end-of-life decisions; culturally based beliefs about dying; the differences between depression and grief; and people’s views about the right time to die, the death experience itself, and the afterlife. For each topic the book introduces core concepts and summarizes recent research about them. The book presents much of its material in readable tables for easy reference; applies the material to real-life cases; lists the main “take home” points for each chapter; and gives references for additional reading. The book helps caregivers anticipate the reactions of patients and survivors to end-of-life traumas and suggests how caregivers can respond insightfully and compassionately. At the same time the book challenges caregivers to think through their own views about death and dying. This book, therefore, is a must-read for all caregivers―professional and nonprofessional alike―who strive to give their patients comprehensive, high-quality end-of-life care.

In consultation with Consulting Editor, Dr. Helen Boucher, Drs. Zumla and Hui have assembled an excellent clinical overview of the current priorities in treating emerging and re-emerging infections. A number of landmark events have occurred in the area of epidemic infections. The frequency and diversity of serious and drug/antibiotic-resistant infections are increasing. New and re-emerging infectious disease outbreaks continue to cause much human suffering and loss of life worldwide. Current priority infectious diseases concerns that threaten global health security are covered in this issue: Cholera; Typhoid and antibiotic-resistant strains; multi—drug-resistant Tuberculosis; Invasive Meningococcal disease; Invasive Pneumococcal disease; antibiotic-resistant bacterial, viral, and protozoal infections; diphtheria; pandemic influenza; MERS; SARS; Measles; viral haemorrhagic fevers; wild-type Polio virus; Zika; antibiotic-resistant sexually transmitted diseases; drug-resistant Malaria; ARV-resistant HIV; and fungal infections. This issue’s clinical review articles, written by authoritative and renowned experts in the area would, have broad appeal, from general internists to respiratory specialists. It should also prove interesting to infectious diseases specialists, health practitioners in the tropics, pulmonologists, internal medicine fellows, family physicians, and health-care policy makers in the west and developing countries. Medical students, postgraduates, and research fellows (both undergraduates and postgraduates) will also find this issue useful and to be a updated reference in the field of respiratory medicine, tropical medicine, and infectious diseases.

The Encyclopedia of Cremation is the first major reference resource focused on cremation. Spanning many world cultures it documents regional histories, ideological movements and leading individuals that fostered cremation whilst also presenting cremation as a universal practice. Tracing ancient and classical cremation sites, historical and contemporary cremation processes and procedures of both scientific and legal kind, the encyclopedia also includes sections on specific cremation rituals, architecture, art and text. Features in the volume include: a general introduction and editorial introductions to sub-sections by Douglas Davies, an international specialist in death studies; appendices of world cremation statistics and a chronology of cremation; cross-referencing pathways through the entries via the index; individual entry bibliographies; and illustrations. This major international reference work is also an essential source book for students on the growing number of death-studies courses and wider studies in religion, anthropology or sociology.

This pioneering handbook proposes an approach to pluralism that is relational, principled, and non-relativistic, going beyond banal calls for mere "tolerance." The growing religious diversity within societies around the world presents both challenges and opportunities. A degree of competition between deeply held religious/worldview perspectives is natural and inevitable, yet at the same time the world urgently needs engagement and partnership across lines of difference. None of the world’s most pressing problems can be solved by any single actor, and as such it is not a question of if but when you partner with an individual or institution that does not think, act, or believe as you do. The authors argue that religious literacy—defined as a dynamic combination of competencies and skills, continuously refined through real-world cross-cultural engagement—is vital to building societies and states of neighborly solidarity and civic fairness. Through examination, reflection, and case studies across multiple faith traditions and professional fields, this handbook equips scholars and students, as well as policymakers and practitioners, to assess, analyze, and act collaboratively in a world of deep diversity. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.