End of Life Discussions

Though most patients wish to discuss end-of-life (EOL) issues, doctors are reluctant to conduct end-of-life conversations. Little is known about the barriers doctors face in conducting effective EOL conversations with diverse patients. This mixed methods study was undertaken to empirically identify barriers faced by doctors (if any) in conducting effective EOL conversations with diverse patients and to determine if the doctors’ age, gender, ethnicity and medical sub-specialty influenced the barriers reported.

No Easy Talk: A Mixed Methods Study of Doctor ReportedBarriers to Conducting Effective End-of-Life Conversations with DiversePatients is a recent article that addresses this subject.