Eight focus groups were conducted in four public hospitals in Madrid to explore healthcare professionals’ perceptions of advance directives in order to improve the understanding of their lack of success among physicians and patients. A purposive sample of sixty healthcare professionals discussed ADs and reasons for their infrequent use. Three main themes were identified: perceptions about their meaning, appraisals of their use in clinical practice, and decision-making about them. Healthcare professionals perceived a lack of clarity about their definition and implementation. (...) There is insufficient awareness of their efficacy in improving the quality of clinical relationships and decision-making, and they are often perceived only as a bureaucratic procedure. Advance directives are not integrated in the clinical practice of Madrid’s healthcare specialist services because their application is exceedingly complex, because of insufficient education about them, and because of lack of procedural clarity. Consequently, healthcare professionals are not aware of how ADs could improve clinical decision-making, of when and for whom their use is appropriate, and of who has responsibility for providing ADs-related information to patients. These circumstances contribute to patients’ lack of interest in completing these documents and to physicians’ sceptical views about their usefulness. (shrink)

It is unknown whether hospital-based medical professionals in Spain educate patients about advance directives. The objective of this research was to determine the frequency of hospital-based physicians’ and nurses’ engagement in AD discussions in the hospital and which patient populations merit such efforts. A short question-and-answer-based survey of physicians and nurses taking care of inpatients was conducted at a university hospital in Madrid, Spain. In total, 283 surveys were collected from medical professionals, of whom 71 per cent were female, with (...) an average age of thirty-four years. Eighty-four per cent had never educated patients about ADs because of lack of perceived responsibility, time, or general knowledge of ADs. Patient populations that warranted AD discussions included those with terminal illnesses, chronic diseases, and elderly patients. Regarding degree of AD understanding in medical professionals: 57 per cent of medical professionals claimed sufficient general knowledge of ADs, 19 per cent understood particulars regarding AD document creation, and 16 per cent were aware of AD regulatory policies. Engagement in AD discussions was considered important by 83 per cent of medical professionals, with 79 per cent interested in participating in such discussions themselves. The majority of hospital physicians and nurses do not educate their patients about ADs, despite acknowledging their importance. Patient populations of highest priority included those with terminal diseases or chronic illness or who are of advanced age. (shrink)

El objetivo principal de este trabajo es dar a conocer las reflexiones del filósofo alemán Robert Spaemann en torno al concepto de dignidad humana. Para ello, nos detendremos a considerar qué van antes, si los derechos humanos o la dignidad; los tipos de dignidad: ontológica y moral; así como los problemas que lleva consigo el concepto de dignidad humana. A continuación, abordaremos la argumentación de Robert Spaemann en torno a la dignidad en tres apartados: la capacidad de autotrascendencia del ser (...) humano, el ser potencialmente moral, y el poder representar a lo Absoluto. (shrink)

The present work attempts to evaluate in what manner the Marian virtues marked out throughout the Middle Ages with respect to women, contribute powerfully to the dignification of women and their redemption from the traditional accusations that they are a perverting influence on humanity.

Las imágenes de san Francisco de Asís se multiplican en Europa con la función de servir de modelo a los frailes menores y despertar la veneración de los fieles mediante el conocimiento de los episodios más significativos de su hagiografía. Para comprender el significado último de estas representaciones es necesario recordar dónde fueron realizadas, aunando aspectos formales y fuentes literarias que sir­vieron de inspiración a los pintores de la Baja Edad Media. En las siguientes líneas veremos el importante papel de (...) los franciscanos como comitentes, la difusión de las biografías de Tomás de Celano y san Buenaventura y su recepción en las imágenes, especialmente, a partir de los frescos de Giotto di Bondone en Asís. Estos constituyen un punto de inflexión en la evolución de los repertorios franciscanos, por su renovación e incidencia en la consoli­dación de símbolos parlantes y fórmulas de representación de carácter narrativo en la iconografía franciscana. No es objeto de este trabajo la catalogación de imágenes, sino reseñar las principales variables de la imagen de san Francisco desde el siglo xiii al xv a partir de piezas muy elocuentes respecto a su origen y evolución posterior. (shrink)

El presente trabajo busca establecer una relación entre el marcado carácter masculino que durante siglos ha tenido la actividad política y el veto a la mujer en el acceso a los estudios de Derecho. Partiendo de la explicación de la regla prohibitiva y el recuerdo de las juristas parlamentarias pioneras de principios del siglo xx, el estudio se centra en las juristas parlamentarias de la Transición, en concreto, en las que formaron parte de las Cortes Constituyentes de 1977-1979. El objetivo (...) último es reconocer el valor de las aportaciones de todas aquellas mujeres que, en unos años difíciles en España, se enfrentaron no solo al reto de realizar unos estudios con limitadas salidas profesionales para ellas, sino que participaron en aquella legislatura con la esperanza de recuperar y consolidar la democracia. (shrink)