Deciding how you want to die is probably one of the most difficult and uncomfortable decisions one can make.
A new study has found that the completion rates of advanced directives is very low, as low as 10 percent, among Filipino Americans, according to a story in the Inquirer.
“I’d say two out of five Filipino patients I’ve seen refused to make a ‘Do not resuscitate’ order,” says Rowena Patel, nurse manager at Laguna Honda Hospice in San Francisco.
Religion plays a prominent role in the decisions of Filipino Americans, and many hope for a miracle by requesting aggressive care, regardless of the odds and how uncomfortable that might make the patient feel.
“I’ve had at least two elderly Filipinos that we recommended for hospice disappear on us,” says a physician’s assistant who requested anonymity. “I found out later that they died in the Philippines.”
