Negotiating Cross-Cultural Issues at the End of Life

The clinical problem and dearth of research which led to the study was directly connected to the fact that there was a clear understanding that not enough clinicians had cultural competency, particularly with patients receiving end of life care, but there wasn't a clear sense of how to fix this. The fundamental issue at stake was how cultural competency could improve end of life care and the services which needed to be available to clinicians in order to improve healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. As the researchers assert, "Thus the risk for cross-cultural misunderstandings surrounding care at the end of life is also increasing. Studies have shown cultural differences in attitudes toward truth telling, life-prolonging technology, and decision-making styles at the end of life" (Kagawa-Singer & Blackhall, 2001). These notions illuminate clearly the need for the study and the relevancy of the...
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