Journal of Community & Public Health Nursing
Open Access

Abstract

Experiences of Advance Care Planning (ACP) promotion endeavors that increase Taiwanese indigenous people’s awareness for palliative care education will be shared for rural health care provders. A mixed method study was designed to examine the influences of obtained knowledge, life attitudes of existential transcendence, optimistic coping, and ACP engagement among indigenous cancer survivors mostly residing in Eastern Taiwan. This study of a unique sequential exploratory design, following the preliminary qualitative results, was conducted in two phases and important issues during the recruiment and ACP promotion process will be discussed, especially limirations in the relatively rurual, under-representative areas. The significance of this project was valuable in that a large number of indigenous cancer survivors were enrolled, the representative sample was drawn from various remote Taiwanese areas, the rigorous study design was interdisciplinary, optimal data collection was managed by their familiar trained professionals, and measures chosen were with little burdens. The results of this study provided information, for the first time in Taiwan, contributing to set standards for health promotional programs in the current end-of-life public education. Ultimately, this study leaded to opportunities to decrease personal symptomatic distress, improve communication among patients, health care providers, and family caregivers, decrease decisional conflicts and care burden, increase care continuity, and enhance quality of life. Future implications also included clinical and policy-making guidance particularly for these minority indigenous groups in Taiwan.

Biography

Yvonne Hsiung received her PhD in Palliative Care Nursing in 2011. Being an ethical consultant for terminal patients and family surrogates, her previous research, teaching, and clinical experiences mostly focused on the health promotion, community education, and cultural advance care planning among minority groups in the Greater Chicago Area. She returned to Taiwan in 2012 because her father required cancer care. Now she is at Mackay Medical College teaching courses about Oncology Nursing, Palliative Care, Medical Ethics, Spiritual Nursing Care, and Life and Death Education.

E-mail: yvonnebear@mmc.edu.tw