IMPLEMENTING THE PATIENT SELF-DETERMINATION ACT (PSDA) - HOW TO EFFECTIVELY ENGAGE CHINESE-AMERICAN ELDERLY PERSONS IN THE DECISION OF ADVANCE DIRECTIVES

The Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) confirmed one of our fundamental societal values. We are excited because self-determination has always been a prevalent principle in social work practice. But when it is incorporated into statutory law, it simply does not provide for cultural diversity and sensibility. This paper intends to address the problems of implementing the PSDA with the Chinese-American population who have a unique but different set of values and well-defined role relationships. It also proposes the use of group work as an effective mean to educate and engage this population in the decision of advance directives.