Death Foretold

by Christakis, Nicholas A.

• ISBN13: 9780226104706
• ISBN10: 0226104702
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-02-15
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

This groundbreaking book explains prognosis from the perspective of doctors, examining why physicians are reluctant to predict the future, how doctors use prognosis, the symbolism it contains, and the emotional difficulties it involves. Drawing on his experiences as a doctor and sociologist, Nicholas Christakis interviewed scores of physicians and searched dozens of medical textbooks and medical school curricula for discussions of prognosis in an attempt to get to the core of this nebulous medical issue that, despite its importance, is only partially understood and rarely discussed.

Author Biography

Nicholas A. Christakis, M.D., Ph.D., is an associate professor of medicine and sociology at the University of Chicago.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Prognosis In Medicine	1	(29)
Making Use Of Prognosis	30	(34)
Error and Accountability in Prognostication	64	(20)
Professional Norms Regarding Prognostication	84	(23)
Telling Patients Their Prognosis	107	(28)
The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy	135	(28)
The Ritualization of Optimism and Pessimism	163	(16)
A Duty To Prognosticate	179	(22)
Appendix 1 Original Sources Of Data	201	(8)
Appendix 2 Detailed Survey Experiment Results	209	(20)
Acknowledgments	229	(4)
Notes	233	(50)
Bibliography	283	(26)
Index	309