Call for Abstracts – End of Life Decisions: Ethics in clinical practice, research and policy

December 2, 2008

Call for Abstracts: End of Life Decisions, Ethics in clinical practice, research and policy
XI Annual Swedish Symposium on Biomedicine, Ethics and Society
Seglarhotellet, Sandhamn
June 8-9th, 2009

Clinical ethics is a multi-disciplinary and multi-professional field. We invite scholars and professionals to participate in a research symposium that focuses on end of life decisions such as shifting focus from curative to palliative treatment, how clinical research at the end of life can be improved and the role policy documents play in clinical practice.

In clinical practice, doctors and nurses must make difficult decisions regarding withdrawal of treatment, having regard to medical benefit, patient autonomy, and sometimes the role played by the patient’s family. Clinical research raises another set of questions. How do we distinguish between health care practice and research activities? How do we deal with information and consent in emergency situations or when the dying patient can be randomized only after losing consciousness? These questions are also challenges for policy makers that need to protect patients and research subjects, and at the same time facilitate research developments that improve health care practices that in turn provide better treatment and care for future patients.

Keynote Speakers

Simon Woods, Policy, Ethics and Life Sciences Research Centre (PEARLS), Newcastle University
Liisa Hovi, Hospital for Children and Adolescents, University of Helsinki
Sören Holm, Cardiff School of Law and University of Oslo
Nina Rehnqvist, SBU – The Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care

Programme and Call for Abstracts

The first day of the symposium consists of keynote lectures and plenary discussions. The second day of the symposium consists of presentations in parallel sessions.

We now call for abstracts regarding end of life decisions in clinical 1)practice, 2) research, and 3) policy.

Submission deadline: March 1, 2009

For more information