Medical Humanities and Life Policy in Vietnam: A model (Biological, Psychological, Social, Meaningful) for holistic and end-of-life care. (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798245766454)

The rapid development of modern medicine has brought about tremendous achievements in prolonging biological life, but at the same time, it has also revealed serious limitations in caring for the mental, social, and existential suffering of human beings, especially in the end-of-life stage. In Vietnam, the healthcare system is facing a dual challenge: an overload of high-tech treatments and the lack of a sufficiently strong, humane policy framework to protect human dignity when life becomes fragile.

This study proposes a Humanistic Medical Policy model for Vietnam, based on the integrated Biological-Psychological-Social-Meaning of Life (VN-H4C) framework, with end-of-life care established as a central pillar of life policy. Instead of mechanically copying international models, the research selectively adopts the best practices from global humanistic medicine and palliative care, while creating solutions suitable to the Vietnamese cultural, social, and institutional context, where family and community play a crucial role in patient care.

Through theoretical analysis, international comparisons, and specific policy recommendations, the book affirms that medical humanism is not merely a personal ethical choice, but a healthcare governance capacity that needs to be institutionalized. The model presented aims for implementation, measurement, and scalability, contributing a case study from Vietnam to the international dialogue on humanistic healthcare policy and end-of-life care.

Humanistic Medicine; Health Policy; End-of-Life Care; Palliative Care; Biopsychosocial-Existential Model; Vietnam