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. 2025 Feb 4;50(1):13-24.
doi: 10.1093/jmp/jhae037.

Where There's Hope, There's Life 1 : On the Importance of Hope in Health Care

Steve Clarke  1 , Justin Oakley  2
Affiliations

Where There's Hope, There's Life 1 : On the Importance of Hope in Health Care

Steve Clarke et al. J Med Philos. .

Abstract

It is widely supposed that it is important to ensure that patients undergoing medical procedures hope that their treatments will be successful. But why is hope so important, if indeed it is? After examining the answers currently on offer in the literature, we identify a hitherto unrecognized reason for supposing that it is important that patients possess hope for a successful treatment, which draws on prospect theory, Kahneman and Tversky's hugely influential descriptive theory about decision-making in situations of risk and uncertainty. We also consider some concerns about patient consent and the potential manipulation of patients that are raised by our account.

Keywords: goal; hope; manipulation; patient decision-making; prospect theory.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Outcomes of prospect theory.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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