Extending the Boundaries of Care

Book excerpt: How is the concept of patient care adapting in response to rapid changes in healthcare delivery and advances in medical technology? How are questions of ethical responsibility and social diversity shaping the definitions of healthcare?In this topical study, scholars in anthropology, nursing theory, law and ethics explore questions involving the changing relationship between patient care and medical ethics. Contributors address issues that challenge the boundaries of patient care, such as: - HIV-related care and research- the impact of new reproductive technologies- preventative healthcare- technological breakthroughs that are changing personal-caring relationships.Chapters range from a consideration of the practicalities of nursing and family healthcare to a debate about ‘universal human needs' and patients' rights.This book is a provocative exploration of the ways in which healthcare models are socially constructed. It will be of interest to policy-makers, medical practitioners and administrators, as well as students of sociology, anthropology and social policy.