Hablandocon Latinos: Goals of Care Conversations with Latino Patients and Families (TH316)

Abstract

1.Identify barriers to meaningful goals of care conversations in the Latino population.2.Understand how Latino patients and families may approach decision making regarding end-of-life preferences.3.Learn and apply culturally sensitive and literacy-appropriate tools for adding value and meaning to goals of care conversations. Even though studies show that the majority of older Latinos prefer less aggressive, comfort-focused end-of-life care, this patient population as a whole tends to choose to die in the hospital and to avoid medications that could better palliate symptoms for fear that they may shorten their lifespan. Furthermore, the majority have not documented or communicated their preferences, hence remaining at a higher risk of being subjected to aggressive interventions close to the end of life. Within the Latino population, preferences may also vary based on widely diverse cultural values, literacy levels, demographic characteristics, levels of acculturation, and knowledge of end-of-life treatment options. Although it is impossible to have adequate bicultural and bilingual Spanish speaking providers for this ever-increasing ethnic minority in the United States, it remains clear that enhanced educational efforts for both healthcare personnel and patients may bring value and meaning to these tough yet important conversations so as to provide care that is concordant to these individuals' faith and values. This session will address the barriers to having meaningful end-of-life conversations with the Latino population, including preconceived notions about patient preferences among providers. An interdisciplinary panel of bicultural and bilingual professionals will discuss their perspective on how the Latino patients and families may perceive a change in their health condition. The panel will introduce culturally sensitive, literacy-appropriate tools needed to address conflict and decisional uncertainty within Latino families during future healthcare decision making.