Casuistry: On a Method of Ethical Judgement in Patient Care.

The article is dedicated to the application questions of a case study method known as casuistry. In its long tradition, it focuses on an influential variant of the early modern period and reconstructs its functionality. In the course of reading recent receptions, it is noted that some studies speak of a "casuistic revival" in moral case deliberation in health care.

Determinants of completion of advance directives: a cross-sectional comparison of 649 outpatients from private practices versus 2158 outpatients from a university clinic.

Objectives: To compare outpatients from private practices and outpatients from a university clinic regarding the determinants of completion of advance directives (AD) in order to generalise results of studies from one setting to the other. Five determinants of completion of AD were studied: familiarity with AD, source of information about AD, prior experiences with own life-threatening diseases or family members in need of care and motives in favour and against completion of AD.

Design: Observational cross-sectional study.