New Zealand Listener - November 5, 2016

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TECHNOLOGY

Prepare for a future

with no pilots, PAs,

stock traders or call

centre operators

42

PSYCHOLOGY

Think of your

emotions as if

they’re smartphone

notiications

43

FOOD

Celebrate spring

with some

succulent cuts of

roasted lamb

44

experience with that of a relative who struggled

with decisions about end-of-life care for her hus-

band after he went into a coma without having

talked about what kind of death and funeral he

wanted.

“She was in a real dilemma because she had no

idea what he wanted to do.”

Goodwin was determined to make sure his

children were never put in a similar position,

and a year ago, he completed an advance care

plan, using guidelines provided by the National

Advance Care Planning Co-operative, and had

it added to his electronic patient record with the

Canterbury District Health Board.

With the help of a nurse at his local medical

centre and extra input from his GP, he worked his

way through a wide range of questions, from how

and where he wants to spend his final days or

weeks to what kind of funeral he wants.

He says the process of completing the plan was

an opportunity to think about what matters to

him. It also helped him realise that one thing he

particularly wants to avoid is ending up in a rest

home in a vege tative state following something

like a head injury.

“I don’t want to be a burden to my children

and in that situation I wouldn’t want to be

resuscitated.”

He says that the plan would only come

into effect if he were no longer able to

make decisions about his medi-

cal care. But he feels happy

knowing that should that

situation arise – perhaps as a

result of being knocked off

his bike and suffering a

serious head injury – he’s

made his wishes clear.

“I feel much hap-

pier having the plan.

I know things are in

place for the medical

fraternity if some-

thing happens to

me, and it’s provided

clarity for the kids, which is one of

the things I wanted. There’s nothing

worse than not knowing what to do.”

A

ucklander Martin Putterill feels

similarly comforted by having

recently completed an advance

care plan, which he has lodged with

the Auckland District Health Board:

“It’s about trying to lighten the

burden for your family.”

Aged 82 and with a chronic heart

condition, he says the process also

helped him focus on the importance

of making the most of the time he

has left. However, he’d like to see

people thinking and talking about

these things much earlier in life. “It’s

not just for older or dying people,”

he says.

Leigh Manson, programme direc-

tor for the National Advance Care

Planning Co-operative, which is

organising New Zealand’s first forum

on advance care planning in Auck-

land in November, couldn’t agree

more.

“We encourage people who are

really well and don’t have a life-

threatening illness to start thinking

about it.”

She says advance care planning

is as much about having conversa-

tions about what matters

to you as it is about

formally completing a

plan – although they

certainly encourage

the latter.

“It’s important

to think about the

impact of not having

these conversations on

people who may have

to make decisions for you,

or who make decisions and

live with a lot of regrets because

they didn’t know what you

wanted.” l

* http://www.advancecareplanning.

org.nz

“I know things are in place

for the medical fraternity if

something happens to me.”

BENEFICIAL SIDE EFFECT

Anti-inlammatory drugs used to

treat conditions such as rheuma-

toid arthritis and Crohn’s disease

may have an unexpected ben-

eicial side efect – improving the

symptoms of depression. Cam-

bridge University researchers

found the drugs have a notable

antidepressant efect regard-

less of whether they improve a

person’s physical symptoms. The

indings are more proof of the

link between the immune system

and mental health.

HEAR, HEAR

Older people who have trouble

following conversations in noisy

situations may not have hearing

problems – the diculties may

come from changes to the way

their brain processes speech. US

researchers say this is probably

part of ageing, but it may be pos-

sible to change it using training

techniques. Meanwhile, they

advise talking to older people

at a normal rate while looking

directly at them, which gives their

brain another clue about what

you are saying.

LESS STRESS TO CONCEIVE

Women with high levels of the

stress hormone cortisol in hair

samples are almost a third

less likely to conceive

using in-vitro fertilisation

than those with lower

levels. The indings,

published in Psycho-

neuroendocrinology,

ofer the irst proper evi-

dence that cortisol may

play an important role in

determining reproductive

outcomes. The University

of Nottingham researchers

say reducing cortisol levels

in the months before IVF

treatment may boost the

success rate.

HEALTH BRIEFS

GETTY IMAGES