As Americans’ life spans continue to increase, issues of quality and quantity of life are becoming increasingly more important. Although quality of life has different meanings and standards for each person, overall health in relation to how long a person lives impacts his quality of life. While there are no easy answers to the longevity versus quality debate, understanding how to respect a loved one’s wishes or helping your family to respect your own is vital.
Successful Aging
Institutions like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization have started to study health-related quality of life or via survey as a way to better determine how to care for Americans. This is because prolonging life for many Americans does not seem an effective solution if the person’s health results in a very low quality of life. This survey conducted among the CDC, WHO and other organizations is designed to help find ways and services that can help enhance quality of life as Americans live longer.
Quantity of Life Debate
Those faced with a terminal illness at an early age or a life-threatening injury face a much shorter length of life than they had planned. Many physicians assume, particularly in younger patients, that a terminally ill or injured person will choose life-lengthening measures over ones that improve quality of life or symptoms, according to the Center for Bioethics at the University of Minnesota. In addition to lack of symptom relief, life-lengthening treatments may not address emotional or spiritual suffering. However, for patients with hope for recovery following treatment or surgery, measures to extend longevity of life may be preferred.
Quality of Life Debate
One concept in modern medicine is the idea of a “good death.” This means a person has a right to die a death free of pain, after receiving compassionate care, and surrounded by loved ones, if desired, according to the Center for Bioethics at the University of Minnesota. For dying patients, relief from breathing difficulties and pain can make a significant difference in quality of life. When patients decide to forgo life-extending measures, the decision not to prolong life represents a final one.
Ethical Dilemmas
The choice between longevity of life and quality of life in the dying or terminally ill is known as an ethical dilemma. This means there is no wrong or right answer for the entire population, only the preferences of the particular person. One example of this ethical dilemma could be when a patient is choosing between a surgery that could prolong life or hospice care that could make the patient’s life more comfortable and less painful. While no easy answer exists, you and your doctor can discuss the point at which life-extending measures should be forgone in favor of measures that improve your quality of life.
References
- American Journal of Public Health: Longevity and the Quality of Life: A New Challenge for Public Health in the Americas
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Health-Related Quality of Life
- Psychology Today: Quantity Versus Quality of Life
- Center for Bioethics, University of Minnesota: End of Life Care: An Ethical Overview
