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Research data from end-of-life projects around the country tell
us:
- Too many people spend their last days experiencing
unnecessary pain.
- Too often, there is ambiguity about the patient’s
wishes regarding when to switch from aggressive
treatment to palliative care.
- One-half or more of patients or their families report that
physicians did not keep patients and family members
informed and involved in decision making.
- Only about one third of the population have done advance care
planning and prepared documents defining their wishes
and designating a person to make health care decisions.
And half the time such documents are not available
when needed or are not heeded.
- Over 80 percent of respondents would like to die at home
or in a hospice; only about 20 percent do so.
- In a Rhode Island survey of faith group members involved in
end-of-life situations, only one-third said their place of
worship does a good job of providing spiritual/religious
counseling during illness and death.
To alleviate the concerns about end of life described above,
Better Ending developed tools for patients,
their families, and health care providers. These
tools guide us in having a conversation with loved ones and
health care providers about how we would want to be treated in case
of serious illness if we could not communicate.
Learn more about end-of-life issues: SODIUM study.
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