1) Most respondents said preparation for the end of life was very important, yet far fewer had actually taken steps to ensure their end-of-life wishes would be known or honored.
2) Most people did not want artificial hydration/nutrition at the end of their lives, preferred to die at home, and harbored misconceptions about pain; yet, most had not engaged in conversations with their physician, minister, or lawyer about these issues.
3) While some adults were unfamiliar with hospice care, when provided with a definition, a majority indicated that they would want hospice care if they were dying and preferably in their own homes.
Doing what we say we want is an ongoing problem when it comes to end-of-life planning. Like most people, many South Dakotans have end-of-life preferences that they have taken no actions to implement. These results reinforce the continued urgency for patient conversations initiated by doctors and other healthcare workers, not only with the elderly who are near the end of their lives, but with all patients. At personal levels, we also should do what we say. More discussions by family and community members are needed to bridge that long-standing gap between what we say and what we do.
You can read more here about the"South Dakota's Dying to Know" statewide survey here:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19591624?ordinalpos=61&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum
Frances Shani Parker
“Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog”
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