Hospice Care Construction for the Elderly in Comparative Perspective: Experiences and Implications

Abstract

Doing a good job of end-of-life care for the elderly in the context of aging not only reflects the moral level of the society and respect for life, but also helps to reduce the burden on the medical system, enhance the cohesion of the family and the society, and at the same time inherits the cultural value of respecting the elderly, and countries around the world have attached great importance to the construction of end-of-life care. This article first traces the historical origin of end-of-life care and explains the connotation of end-of-life care; then it compares the successful practices of countries around the world, especially the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, in building end-of-life care, and concludes that the four points of emphasizing the support of laws and policies, stressing the protection of the medical system, deepening the multidisciplinary cooperation, and guaranteeing the personalized needs are their beneficial experiences; finally, the article discusses the problems in carrying out end-of-life care in China at the present stage. Finally, the article discusses the problems and deficiencies in the development of end-of-life care in China at this stage, and argues that we should learn from international experience, actively promote end-of-life care policies, break through the limitations of traditional concepts, advocate a new concept of life and death, bring into play the combination of government-led system and practice, and promote the development of end-of-life care through inter-professional and multi-disciplinary cooperation.