Awareness‐raising activities for community residents about decision‐making regarding end‐of‐life care: A nationwide survey in Japan municipalities

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to clarify the current state of awareness-raising activities to educate residents about decision-making regarding end-of-life care using a nationwide survey of municipalities in Japan. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey of all municipalities in Japan (n = 1741) was carried out. We asked one representative from each municipality whether or not there were ongoing municipality-led activities to raise awareness and educate the community about end-of-life care decisions. A logistic regression analysis was carried out to examine the regional characteristics associated with running municipality-led awareness-raising activities. Additionally, we investigated the creation and contents of awareness-raising materials targeting residents. The questionnaire was completed by 1145 municipalities (valid response rate 65.8%). We found that 39.4% of the municipalities surveyed were currently running or planning activities about end-of-life care. Municipalities with active public awareness campaigns had a significantly higher financial capability index than inactive municipalities. Awareness-raising materials targeting residents were created in 134 of the municipalities. The most frequently mentioned components of the materials were the importance of articulating one's intentions with regard to end-of-life care services in advance, sharing those feelings with the family and revisiting them repeatedly (73.9%), and the explanation of home healthcare and long-term care services (47.7%). The present findings suggest that cities with tight budgets are unable to carry out activities to raise awareness and educate residents about end-of-life care. Thus, it is important to pursue the implementation of further national-level initiatives and funding support for municipalities. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2020; 20: 72-77.