ACP Conversations with Chinese and South Asian Patients: Physicians’ Perspectives of Barriers and Facilitating Factors

Abstract

Introduction/Objective

Advance Care Planning (ACP) discussions are infrequently conducted with physicians, even fewer among minorities. We explored physicians’ experiences in engaging Chinese (CH) and South Asian (SA) patients in ACP conversations to understand initiation and participation patterns, topics covered, and barriers and facilitating factors.

Method

Twenty-two physicians with 15%+ SA patients aged 55+ and 19 with 15%+ CH patients aged 55+ were interviewed.

Results

SA- and CH-serving physicians described similar initiation patterns, cultural context, and need for standardized ACP routines. However, the SA-serving physicians described greater involvement of family members, while CH-serving physicians described more communication barriers and family members’ desire to hide the diagnosis from patients.

Conclusion

Cultural taboos surrounding discussion around death and dying appear to influence CH older adults and families strongly. Lack of familiarity with ACP amongst the SA population accounts more for their limited engagement in ACP discussions.