Health Education Specialists’ Attitudes toward End-of-Life Education And Planning

Abstract

This study explored attitudinal differences of Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES) and Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES) toward providing end-of-life education. From a national CHES/MCHES list, we stratified health education specialists by geographic location then randomly selected participants. In our sample (N = 373), older individuals, those who cared for terminally ill persons/families, and those who had death and dying education had more positive attitudes toward providing end-of-life education. We offer three approaches to address the advance care-planning crisis: 1) providing additional end-of-life education to medical professionals, 2) assisting medical schools with incorporating experiential learning, and 3) community outreach.