First Name:
Rebecca
Last Name:
Coley
Major Department:
Health Care Management
Thesis Director:
Sandi Lane
Date of Thesis:
Dec 2012
Background: With a growing aging population and chronic diseases taking a toll on a large percentage of the general population, there is an increasing need for patient and family education on end-of-life care. End-of-life care is generally avoided as a topic of discussion due to the inevitability of the patient's death and societal views of death as a taboo subject, yet it is an important facet of care along the continuum of health care services. End-of-life care opportunities are the last phase along the continuum and deserve an equal level of recognition from which their earlier counterparts benefit.
End-of-life care options include aggressive treatment, palliative care and hospice care. Aggressive treatment focuses on curative efforts. Palliative care encompasses symptom and pain management for a patient who has been diagnosed with a serious illness and is available regardless of predicted life expectancy. Hospice care is an option that is devoted solely to caring for patients who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and a prognosis of six months or less to live.
This paper will first address the end-of-life care options through an in-depth explanation of what each entails. The discussion will then develop to present the culturally-induced concepts and values surrounding end-of-life care decisions, including patient demographics, pre- or misconceptions of services, and the patient-provider relationship. A proposal of cultivating a health care environment that is more culturally sensitive to the needs of those being served will be presented. Culturally-sensitive approaches must be addressed as a factor in the discussion of care plans between patient and provider. Patient-centered care and cultural sensitivity rely on one another to achieve the ultimate goal of quality care.
Research Questions: What is entailed with each of the respective end-of-life care options? What are the influencing factors that determine the course of action that patients choose at the end of life? How can the system be improved so that patients and families are more knowledgeable on the options for end-of-life care?
Method: Case studies and academic journals were reviewed in order to present and describe various end-of-life care options, the influences on the decision-making process, and the areas of improvement that can be addressed.