- Email: [email protected]
Grappling with immortality
DISSECTING ROOM
Webwatch Contributed by Marilynn Larkin [email protected]
Hospice sites extend a comforting hand ovember is Hospice Month in the USA, and so it is a fitting time to cover a topic most of us might prefer to ignore—namely, websites that promote quality end-of-life care. The US National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO; www.nho.org), a large nonprofit representing hospice and palliative care programmes and professionals, is spearheading a campaign to raise US public awareness of hospice this month, in part by encouraging old-fashioned “quilting bees” (where members of hospice teams and nearby communities come together to create a large quilt) to exemplify the communal and caring spirit that is typical of hospice (see image). The NHPCO’s website is a good resource for finding US hospices
(searchable directory), job openings, and conferences; it also features background information on hospice, relevant statistics, and an excellent compendium of links (the membersonly area gives access to additional materials). A companion website, National Hospice Foundation, offers patient information brochures on finding and selecting a hospice and communicating one’s end-of-life wishes. Across the Atlantic, St. Christopher’s Hospice in London—founded by Dame Cicely Saunders, who also introduced hospice to the USA—recently launched the Hospice Information Service (HIS; www.hospiceinformation.co.uk) website. A key feature of this well-conceived site is the online version of the HIS 2000 Directory of Hospice and Palliative Care Services in the UK and Ireland, Hospice worldwide 2000 (HIS) which provides information on Hospice/palliative care inpatient units, home care, and established and planned serhospital-based teams (estimated global total): 6606 vices, accessible by searching UK hospice units: 220 on the hospice name, town, or US hospice/palliative care units: 3139* health region, or by clickable Countries where hospice and palliative care initiatives are map. The site also provides operational or under development: 89 - developing/low income countries: 54 (61%) clear responses to commonly - developed countries: 27 (30%) asked questions about hospice - least developed countries: 8 (9%) and palliative care, facts and *per NHPCO figures, global links, and the
Grappling with immortality Extended Life, Eternal Life www.extended-eternallife.org fascinating symposium/debate featuring respected and controversial experts in biotechnology, theology, and medical ethics is archived in its entirety—as Real Audio audio/video presentations—on the Extended Life, Eternal Life website. The symposium—a joint effort of the John Templeton Foundation, a philanthropic organisation that aims to encourage links between science and religion, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Bioethics—explores such issues as why the ageing process exists and whether it can be “turned off”; social
Oliver Burston/Debut Art www.debutart.com
A
consequences of radically extended life; biotechnological “immortalisation” as part of humanity’s quest for “eternal life”; and scientific and theological aspects of ageing and death. The streaming video presentations that I viewed downloaded rapidly and were of acceptable quality over a 28·8 dialup connection (some require faster connections). Featured speakers include Michael West, head of Advanced Cell Technology (sponsor of the symposium); cell biologist Leonard Hayflick; Daniel Callahan, head of the Hastings Center; Audrey Chapman of the Association for the Advancement of Science; and University of Pennsylvania ethicist Arthur Caplan. An overview is also provided of the scientific and ethical issues that prompted the symposium, billed as a “first step in a crucial interdisciplinary conversation on the ultimate significance of life” in the face of “rapidly expanding scientific
Eternal life
THE LANCET • Vol 356 • November 4, 2000
Quilt by Lisa Shannon/NHPCO
N
Quilt symbolises compassionate care
quarterly newsletter, Hospice Bulletin (the article on Nepal in the current issue is particularly compelling). Much more is in the works, promises HIS spokesperson Avril Jackson. An international area is in development, and will include details of overseas hospice and palliative care services and website links. The “useful resources” section of the UK hospice directory will also be posted, enabling users to search for details of other organisations that provide support for patients and carers—e.g., cancer information, bereavement information, as well as sources of information and support for palliative care professionals. possibilities” of life extension. My only quibble with this elegant website is that it does not include text transcripts of the streaming audio/video presentations, rendering them inaccessible to users with vision and/or hearing impairments and precluding the possibility of offline browsing of the content.
Click of the Week Campaign against torture Amnesty International (AI) has launched a new website to support a year-long global campaign to stop torture. Users who register at the site will receive information on the latest cases by e-mail or mobile phone text messaging; they can reply to be included in an online petition that will send prewritten e-mails telling relevant authorities of their concern. Users can also e-mail their own messages, and send electronic postcards to friends urging them to become involved in the campaign. Also available: AI’s global torture report (.pdf format). www.stoptorture.org
1617
For personal use only. Not to be reproduced without permission of The Lancet.
Webwatch Contributed by Marilynn Larkin [email protected]
Hospice sites extend a comforting hand ovember is Hospice Month in the USA, and so it is a fitting time to cover a topic most of us might prefer to ignore—namely, websites that promote quality end-of-life care. The US National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO; www.nho.org), a large nonprofit representing hospice and palliative care programmes and professionals, is spearheading a campaign to raise US public awareness of hospice this month, in part by encouraging old-fashioned “quilting bees” (where members of hospice teams and nearby communities come together to create a large quilt) to exemplify the communal and caring spirit that is typical of hospice (see image). The NHPCO’s website is a good resource for finding US hospices
(searchable directory), job openings, and conferences; it also features background information on hospice, relevant statistics, and an excellent compendium of links (the membersonly area gives access to additional materials). A companion website, National Hospice Foundation, offers patient information brochures on finding and selecting a hospice and communicating one’s end-of-life wishes. Across the Atlantic, St. Christopher’s Hospice in London—founded by Dame Cicely Saunders, who also introduced hospice to the USA—recently launched the Hospice Information Service (HIS; www.hospiceinformation.co.uk) website. A key feature of this well-conceived site is the online version of the HIS 2000 Directory of Hospice and Palliative Care Services in the UK and Ireland, Hospice worldwide 2000 (HIS) which provides information on Hospice/palliative care inpatient units, home care, and established and planned serhospital-based teams (estimated global total): 6606 vices, accessible by searching UK hospice units: 220 on the hospice name, town, or US hospice/palliative care units: 3139* health region, or by clickable Countries where hospice and palliative care initiatives are map. The site also provides operational or under development: 89 - developing/low income countries: 54 (61%) clear responses to commonly - developed countries: 27 (30%) asked questions about hospice - least developed countries: 8 (9%) and palliative care, facts and *per NHPCO figures, global links, and the
Grappling with immortality Extended Life, Eternal Life www.extended-eternallife.org fascinating symposium/debate featuring respected and controversial experts in biotechnology, theology, and medical ethics is archived in its entirety—as Real Audio audio/video presentations—on the Extended Life, Eternal Life website. The symposium—a joint effort of the John Templeton Foundation, a philanthropic organisation that aims to encourage links between science and religion, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Bioethics—explores such issues as why the ageing process exists and whether it can be “turned off”; social
Oliver Burston/Debut Art www.debutart.com
A
consequences of radically extended life; biotechnological “immortalisation” as part of humanity’s quest for “eternal life”; and scientific and theological aspects of ageing and death. The streaming video presentations that I viewed downloaded rapidly and were of acceptable quality over a 28·8 dialup connection (some require faster connections). Featured speakers include Michael West, head of Advanced Cell Technology (sponsor of the symposium); cell biologist Leonard Hayflick; Daniel Callahan, head of the Hastings Center; Audrey Chapman of the Association for the Advancement of Science; and University of Pennsylvania ethicist Arthur Caplan. An overview is also provided of the scientific and ethical issues that prompted the symposium, billed as a “first step in a crucial interdisciplinary conversation on the ultimate significance of life” in the face of “rapidly expanding scientific
Eternal life
THE LANCET • Vol 356 • November 4, 2000
Quilt by Lisa Shannon/NHPCO
N
Quilt symbolises compassionate care
quarterly newsletter, Hospice Bulletin (the article on Nepal in the current issue is particularly compelling). Much more is in the works, promises HIS spokesperson Avril Jackson. An international area is in development, and will include details of overseas hospice and palliative care services and website links. The “useful resources” section of the UK hospice directory will also be posted, enabling users to search for details of other organisations that provide support for patients and carers—e.g., cancer information, bereavement information, as well as sources of information and support for palliative care professionals. possibilities” of life extension. My only quibble with this elegant website is that it does not include text transcripts of the streaming audio/video presentations, rendering them inaccessible to users with vision and/or hearing impairments and precluding the possibility of offline browsing of the content.
Click of the Week Campaign against torture Amnesty International (AI) has launched a new website to support a year-long global campaign to stop torture. Users who register at the site will receive information on the latest cases by e-mail or mobile phone text messaging; they can reply to be included in an online petition that will send prewritten e-mails telling relevant authorities of their concern. Users can also e-mail their own messages, and send electronic postcards to friends urging them to become involved in the campaign. Also available: AI’s global torture report (.pdf format). www.stoptorture.org
1617
For personal use only. Not to be reproduced without permission of The Lancet.