A literature review on end-of-life care among Korean Americans.

The increasing population of Korean Americans in the US makes it mandatory to develop and provide culturally competent end-of-life (EOL) care for this population.To synthesize previous studies on Korean Americans and their end-of-life (EOL) care.Four databases (Cinahl, PsycInfo, PubMed, and SocIndex) were searched and 11 articles were selected for review.Korean Americans tend to avoid EOL communication, and instead hope that their families would know about their wishes, without discussing them directly. Korean Americans consider advance directives unnecessary, and only a few Korean Americans use advance directives to lessen the burden of their family's decision-making. Many Korean Americans are unaware of what EOL care provides, which may explain why they seldom use it.Providers should discuss EOL care with Korean Americans and tell them what it entails. However, the discussion should be culturally tailored and involve family members whenever possible.

Duke Scholars

Author Cristina Cu Hendrix School of Nursing