In early modern Catholic Europe and its colonies priests frequently developed close relationships with pious women, serving as their spiritual directors during their lives, and their biographers after their deaths. In this richly illustrated book, Jodi Bilinkoff explores the ways in which clerics related to those female penitents whom they determined were spiritually gifted, and how they conveyed the live stories of these women to readers. The resulting popular literatures of hagiography and spiritual autobiography produced hundreds of texts designed to establish models of behavior for the Catholic faithful in the period between the advent of printing and the beginning of the modern age. Bilinkoff finds that confessional relations and the texts that document them reveal much about gender and social values. She uses life narratives, primarily from Spain, but also from France, Italy, Portugal, Spanish America, and French Canada, to examine the ways in which clerics presented female penitents as exemplary, and how they constructed their own identities around their interactions with exceptional women. These multilayered texts, she suggests, offer compelling accounts of individuals caught up in the pursuit of holiness, and provide a key to understanding the resilience of Catholic culture in an age of religious change and conflict.

Revised edition of the best-selling memoir that has been read by over a million people worldwide with translations in 29 languages. After too many years of unfulfilling work, Bronnie Ware began searching for a job with heart. Despite having no formal qualifications or previous experience in the field, she found herself working in palliative care. During the time she spent tending to those who were dying, Bronnie's life was transformed. Later, she wrote an Internet blog post, outlining the most common regrets that the people she had cared for had expressed. The post gained so much momentum that it was viewed by more than three million readers worldwide in its first year. At the request of many, Bronnie subsequently wrote a book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, to share her story. Bronnie has had a colourful and diverse life. By applying the lessons of those nearing their death to her own life, she developed an understanding that it is possible for everyone, if we make the right choices, to die with peace of mind. In this revised edition of the best-selling memoir that has been read by over a million people worldwide, with translations in 29 languages, Bronnie expresses how significant these regrets are and how we can positively address these issues while we still have the time. The Top Five Regrets of the Dying gives hope for a better world. It is a courageous, life-changing book that will leave you feeling more compassionate and inspired to live the life you are truly here to live.

This globally focused resource integrates sound research evidence, real-life case scenarios, and effective, practical strategies to address a key health care initiative of the 21st century--optimal quality of life for older adults. Distinguished by its broad and global outlook, the book includes contributions from an international cadre of widely published scholars and is designed for easy integration into traditional nursing education curricula. The book explores the experiences of older adults at home, and in acute and primary care, assisted living, nursing home and hospice environments and examines their needs for dealing with multiple, differentiated health, spiritual, and emotional considerations.

The concept of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has evolved since the 1980s, with broad-based applications for clinical care, research, and health policy, as well as for individual and patient use. This book, Health-Related Quality of Life - Measurement Tools, Predictors and Modifiers, highlights measurement tools for HRQoL, as well as predictors and modifiers, examining HRQoL in various disease states, including psychological health. It also discusses ethical issues in the use of HRQoL measurements. The book is a compendium of original research, sharing perspectives from across developing and developed world settings. It is a useful text for researchers and students of academic disciplines in public health and clinical studies, extending to healthcare administrators and policymakers.

Background: Cardiac arrest is a major health problem worldwide. For many of the afflicted, cardiac arrest is the natural end of life. For others, it is an unexpected event suddenly striking in the middle of life. During the last decades, major efforts in treatment have contributed to more people surviving their cardiac arrest. However, previous research has mainly focused on survival, while the knowledge about health-related quality of life in survivors is sparse. Hence, there is a need for more research in order to extend the knowledge about the living situations among survivors and their spouses. For example, factors associated with health-related quality of life are not sufficiently investigated. Knowledge about such factors is important in order to develop interventions and to be able to improve post cardiac arrest care. In addition, existing research shows incongruent results concerning differences in characteristics and survival between men and women. In order to provide equitable care between sexes, further studies are warranted. Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to increase the knowledge of survival and health-related quality of life among people suffering cardiac arrest with focus on sex and other related factors. The specific aims were: to describe in-hospital cardiac arrest events with regard to sex and investigate if sex is associated with survival after controlling for known predictors and interaction effects (study I), to describe health status and psychological distress among in-hospital cardiac arrest survivors in relation to sex (study II), to investigate factors associated with health-related quality of life among cardiac arrest survivors treated with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator in relation to sex, and to compare their health-related quality of life with a general population, (study III) and to investigate if type D personality and perceived control among cardiac arrest survivors and their spouses were associated with their own and their partners’ health-related quality of life (study IV). Methods: The general design in all studies (I-IV) was quantitative, cross-sectional and correlational. This thesis is based on four different data collections. Data was systematically collected using national quality registries (I and II) or by sending questionnaires to survivors (III and IV) and their spouses (IV), treated at several different hospitals in Sweden. The sample size varied between 126 and 990 across the studies. The outcomes and explanatory study variables were chosen with respect to Wilson and Cleary’s conceptual model of health-related quality of life. The main outcome variables were survival after resuscitation, survival at hospital discharge, survival at 30 days post cardiac arrest (I), and health-related quality of life measured by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (II and III) and the EuroQol-5 dimensions (II-IV). In this thesis descriptive and inferential statistics were applied. The main statistics consisted of logistic and linear regression analyses, and structural equation modelling. Results: Male sex was associated with a better chance of survival to hospital discharge, but no associations between sex and survival after resuscitation or at 30 days were identified. More men than women received resuscitation attempts when suffering an in-hospital cardiac arrest (study I). Health-related quality of life among most cardiac arrest survivors was good (II-IV), even when compared to a general population (III). However, a significant proportion reported low health status and symptoms of anxiety and depression (II and III). Women reported worse health-related quality of life compared to men, and female sex was associated with poorer health-related quality of life in the multiple regression models (II and III). Several additional factors were identified to be associated with poorer health-related quality of life: being unemployed, having a type D personality, perceiving less control, suffering from more comorbidities and suffering from more ICD-related concerns (III). In addition, older age was associated with poorer (EQ VAS) or better (HADS Anxiety) health-related quality of life, depending of outcome measure (II). Moreover, perceived control and type D personality among the survivors were associated with health-related quality of life among their spouses, but not vice versa. Conclusions: Although, sex does not appear to be an important predictor for survival, the difference between men and women regarding the proportion of resuscitation attempts should be further investigated. The majority of survivors and their spouses report good health-related quality of life similar to general populations. However, a substantial proportion suffer from health problems. Since women in general report worse health-related quality of life compared to men a higher proportion of women may be in need of support. Several factors associated with worse health-related quality of life were identified and might be used during follow-up and rehabilitation. For example, identifying type D personality might be important when screening patients at risk for health problems. Perceiving more control could be targeted by health-supportive interventions, for example person-centered care. Healthcare professionals should make efforts to identify survivors at risk of poor health-related quality of life and offer individualized support when needed. Characteristics among survivors were associated with health-related quality of life in their spouses. Including spouses in follow-up care is therefore important. Wilson and Cleary’s conceptual model for health-related quality of life appears to be applicable for choosing outcomes in cardiac arrest research and might be helpful when designing interventions to improve post cardiac arrest care.