Dedicated to more humane care, this invaluable volume is a compilation of cutting-edge strategies for making improvements in the quality of care for patients and their families through life's final transition. Its purpose is to improve quality of care through the dissemination, cross-cultural analysis, and critical examination of innovative practices. It features in-depth descriptions of how health care professionals have redesigned systems of care to better support dying patients, as well as analytic essays and international commentary from leaders in the growing worldwide palliative care movement.