Organizational capacities for ‘residential care homes for the elderly’ to provide culturally appropriate end-of-life care for Chinese elders and their families

• Published in: Journal of aging studies 2017-01, Vol.40, p.1-7
• Main Authors: Kong, Sui-Ting, Fang, Christine Meng-Sang, Lou, Vivian Weiqun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Asian Continental Ancestry Group - ethnology; Culturally Competent Care - ethnology; Culturally Competent Care - standards; Family; Female; Homes for the Aged - organization & administration; Hong Kong; Humans; Internal Medicine; Male; Middle Aged; Nurses; Personhood; Quality of Health Care; Social Workers; Surveys and Questionnaires; Terminal Care - standards
• ISSN: 0890-4065; 1879-193X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jaging.2016.12.001

Abstract Developing culturally appropriate end-of-life care for Chinese elderly and families is not an endemic challenge for Hong Kong, but that of the Western countries with a noticeable trend of rising Chinese population. The particular development of Hong Kong healthcare system, which is currently the major provider of end-of-life care, makes Hong Kong a fruitful case for understanding the confluence of the West and the East cultures in end-of-life care practices. This study therefore aims at building our best practice to enhance the capacity of residential care homes in providing culturally appropriate end-of-life care. We conducted two phases of research, a questionnaire survey and a qualitative study, which respectively aims at (1) understanding the EoL care service demand and provision in RCHEs, including death facts and perceived barriers and challenges in providing quality end-of-life care in care homes, and (2) identifying the necessary organizational capacities for the ‘relational personhood’ to be sustained in the process of ageing and dying in residential care homes. Findings shed light on how to empower residential care homes with necessary environmental, structural and cultural-resource-related capacity for providing quality end-of-life care for Chinese elders and their families.