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Massachusetts
Comprehensive Cancer
Control Coalition Plan 2006-2011:
End of Life
Quality of life at the end of life is a priority for cancer
patients and their families. According to the Massachusetts
Commission on End of Life, many Massachusetts residents are
not aware of the choices available to them as they approach
the end of life. They may not know about home care, hospice
care, palliative care, or pain relief. They may not have a
chance to express their wishes, either personal or medical,
until it’s too late. The special needs of children
who are losing a loved one may be neglected.
The process for preparing for end of life is called advance care
planning. It ensures that a patient expresses his or her medical and personal end of
life requests, sometimes in discussions with family and physicians, other times in written
documents such as living wills or health care proxies. Key end of life organizations
in Massachusetts promote advance care planning. They provide education
to the public, to health care providers, and to policy makers about end
of life issues. They advocate for policies and laws that benefit patients and families.
They also offer technical support, and conduct research. Improving end of
life care is a priority for the state’s public health community.
Coalition members have set a number of goals and strategies to
address end of life concerns in the Commonwealth. There are strategies in this
plan to decrease disparities in use of hospice. There are also strategies to increase
education and training of consumers and medical professionals. This plan
seeks to collect information about the needs of Massachusetts patients facing the
end of life. It also aims to find the best approaches to meeting the end of
life needs of Massachusetts residents of all cultures and backgrounds
Goal: Ensure that
all Commonwealth residents have access to quality end of life care.
Target Measures:
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By 2011, increase the number of people who use hospice care
in the last year of life.
Where we are:
28% (Hospice and Palliative Care Federation of Massachusetts,
2004)
Our target: 30% (no HP2010 objective)
- By 2011, increase the medium number of days
in hospice care.
Where we are:
15.4 days (Hospice and Palliative Care Federation of Massachusetts,
2003)
Our target:
20 days (no HP2010 objective)
Strategies:
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Ensure that pediatric and adult palliative and hospice care,
and specifically
symptom management, are a central part of end of life care
in all settings.
- Encourage education of all health care providers on end of
life care.
- Support efforts to educate survivors and loved ones about
available services,
resources and quality care options for end of life care for children and
adults to
enhance informed and shared decision-making.
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Ensure bereavement support is an available option to loved ones including
children and adults.
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