California Residents Have Not Addressed End-of-Life Care
The majority of California residents want health care providers and their families to respect their wishes for end-of-life care, but about 70% have not completed living wills, according to a survey the California HealthCare Foundation released on Wednesday, the Oakland Tribune reports.
For the survey, CHCF and Lake Research Partners interviewed 1,778 randomly-selected state residents by phone last spring. The survey found that 33% of people ages 75 and older had not documented their wishes for end-of-life care, while 43% of people ages 50 to 64 had documented their end-of-life care wishes.
Along racial and ethnic lines on the subject, the survey found that:
- 83% of white respondents said people should be allowed to die in some circumstances;
- 66% of Asians said the same;
- 53% of Latinos agreed; and
- 52% of African Americans said people should be allowed to die in some circumstances.
In addition, the survey found that 87% of white respondents said they would not want to be kept alive if they were in a coma with no chance of substantial recovery, compared with 72% of African Americans and 70% of Latinos.
Sixty-two percent of African Americans said they were concerned about locating health care providers who respect their feelings on end-of-life care, a feeling expressed by 35% of Latinos and 30% of white respondents (Vesely, Oakland Tribune, 11/16). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.