Life-and-Death Attitude and Its Formation Process and End-of-Life Care Expectations Among the Elderly Under Traditional Chinese Culture: A Qualitative Study.
Lei Lei, Quanxi Gan, Chunyan Gu and 2 others
PMID 34120528WHAT IT FOUND
Older adults in China rarely talked about death, formed attitudes passively, and hoped for home care with family, physical comfort, and avoiding painful rescue, mainly to reduce burden on children.
Key findings
01Older adults formed their views about death mainly through personal illness or witnessing deaths, not through family discussion or education.
02They preferred home-based care with family presence, and many wanted to forgo rescue because it seemed painful and unlikely to improve their remaining life.
03A good death was described as short and rapid, reducing personal suffering and family burden, and many held back care demands to avoid financial pressure.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only 20 older adults from two communities in Chongqing were included, so the themes may not apply to other groups. Participants volunteered, and the authors say people who avoid talking about death may not have joined. The study was qualitative and did not test whether discussing end-of-life care improves care or reduces family burden.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the National Social Science Fund of China.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read these themes as proof that end-of-life discussions improve care. The study asked 20 older adults about their views; it did not test an intervention or measure patient outcomes.