End of life care preferences among people of advanced age: LiLACS NZ

BMC Palliative Care

Research Article

Ruth Teh¹  Merryn Gott¹  Anna Rolleston¹  Rosemary Frey¹  Ngaire Kerse¹  Janine Wiles¹  Tess Moeke-Maxwell¹ 

[1] School of Nursing, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand;

关键词: Culture;    End of life;    Preferences;    Māori;    Indigenous;    Palliative;    Advanced age;    Older people;    Ethnicity;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12904-017-0258-0

 received in 2016-11-15, accepted in 2017-12-01,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundUnderstanding end of life preferences amongst the oldest old is crucial to informing appropriate palliative and end of life care internationally. However, little has been reported in the academic literature about the end of life preferences of people in advanced age, particularly the preferences of indigenous older people, including New Zealand Māori.MethodsData on end of life preferences were gathered from 147 Māori (aged >80 years) and 291 non- Māori aged (>85 years), during three waves of Te Puawaitangi O Nga Tapuwae Kia Ora Tonu, Life and Living in Advanced Age (LiLACs NZ). An interviewer-led questionnaire using standardised tools and including Māori specific subsections was used.ResultsThe top priority for both Māori and non-Māori participants at end of life was ‘not being a burden to my family’. Interestingly, a home death was not a high priority for either group. End of life preferences differed by gender, however these differences were culturally contingent. More female Māori participants wanted spiritual practices at end of life than male Māori participants. More male non-Māori participants wanted to be resuscitated than female non- Māori participants.ConclusionsThat a home death was not in the top three end of life priorities for our participants is not consistent with palliative care policy in most developed countries where place of death, and particularly home death, is a central concern. Conversely our participants’ top concern – namely not being a burden – has received little research or policy attention. Our results also indicate a need to pay attention to diversity in end of life preferences amongst people of advanced age, as well as the socio-cultural context within which preferences are formulated.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017