Elder Authority: No one wants to talk about death, grief, loss or incapacitation. So we don’t. The statistics are awful.
- Most people say that making sure their family is not burdened by tough decisions is “extremely important,” yet 56% have not communicated their end-of-life wishes
- 70% of people say they prefer to die at home, but only 30% get that wish
- While 80% of people say that if seriously ill, they would want to talk to their doctor about end-of-life care, only 7% report having had an end-of-life conversation with their doctor
- 82% of people say it’s important to put their wishes in writing, but only23% have actually done it.
Some inroads are being made to combat denial.
A new combatant in the war against denial is a public engagement campaign called, The Conversation Project. The project is a gift to family caregiving and is aimed at helping people talk about their wishes for End of Life Care. Supported by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the interactive site provides discussion questions and stories from those who have successfully made their wishes known.