MARCH 5, 2014 ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES ON END-OF-LIFE ISSUES AND DEATH

SAVE THIS DATE:  MARCH 5, 2014  |  7 PM

ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES ON END-OF-LIFE ISSUES AND DEATH

Dr. Shabbir Alibhai

SUMMARY:        Ethical dilemmas pervade modern geriatric medicine, particularly as patients approach the end of life. These issues include, but are not limited to, assessment of mental capacity, use of advance directives, aggressiveness of care, do-not-resuscitate orders, and artificial nutrition and hydration. In our clinical practices in geriatric medicine in Canada, these issues challenge older patients and their families on a daily basis.

Islam is one of the world’s great monotheistic religions, with over one billion adherents throughout the world. It features a series of principles and positions related to a wide range of ethical issues. Understanding the theological basis for these issues, as well as understanding the clinical implications of religious directives, is increasingly important for clinicians, bioethicists, religious scholars, and other interested parties in Canada and elsewhere.

In this presentation, Dr. Alibhai will outline Islam’s principles in general and specifically as they relate to health care issues. He will then focus on practical issues related to end-of-life care viewed from the moral traditions of Islam. Finally, he will discuss important rituals and other aspects of death and dying that are relevant to the care of patients and families facing death.

DATE, TIME:      Wednesday, March 5, 7 pm  |  Free  |  All are welcome.

LOCATION:       95 St Joseph Street, east door, Room 101, Faculty of Theology

University of St Michael’s College

SPEAKER:  Dr. Alibhai completed medical school training in 1993 and went on to specialize in internal medicine and geriatric medicine. He then obtained a Master’s in Clinical Epidemiology, all at the University of Toronto. Currently on staff as a geriatrician and researcher at the University Health Network, Dr Alibhai is also a Research Scientist of the Canadian Cancer Society and an Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine and the Institute of Health Policy, Management, and Evaluation at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Alibhai has a long-standing personal and educational interest in religious biomedical ethics, focusing on end-of-life issues and comparative bioethics. He has lectured internationally and published articles and book chapters on Islamic and comparative religious biomedical ethics as well as on artificial nutrition and hydration, has been featured in multiple media interviews, and is a local expert on Islamic bioethical issues. His primary research interest is in cancer in older adults.

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