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The changing face of personhood at the end of life: The ring theory of personhood

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 July 2014

Lalit Kumar Radha Krishna  and
Suat Yee Kwek
Lalit Kumar Radha Krishna*
Affiliation:
National University of Singapore, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Singapore
Suat Yee Kwek
Affiliation:
National University of Singapore, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Singapore
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Lalit Kumar Radha Krishna, Department of Palliative Medicine, National Cancer Center Singapore, 11 Hospital Drive, Singapore 169610. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Objective:

The manner in which personhood or “what makes you who you are” is conceived is key to the provision of patient-centered care and maintenance of the dignity and quality of life of terminally ill patients. However, there is little agreement on how this pivotal concept ought to be defined. Some have argued in favor of an innate concept of personhood, while others see an individual as a reflection of their familial identity or their conscious function, and all share a common position that personhood is unchanging, and hinges upon the central theme of their respective concepts. The present paper aims to explore a more clinically influenced perspective of personhood.

Method:

We report the case of a 42-year-old Malay Singaporean who had been a caregiver for her husband throughout his cancer and then became a cancer patient herself after his passing. This case explores her changing and multifaceted conceptions of personhood throughout her life and illness, and discussions about end-of-life care.

Results:

The patient reports a concept of personhood that encompasses the innate, individual, relational, and societal aspects, which are interlinked and vary in terms of depth and conviction according to the various times in her life and illness.

Significance of results:

Our findings support the ring theory of personhood, which provides a clinically supported model of the conception of personhood that is context dependent and encompasses the four abovementioned aspects.

Keywords

PersonhoodPalliative careRing theory of personhoodEnd of life
Type
Case Report
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 13 , Issue 4 , August 2015 , pp. 1123 - 1129
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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