A Qualitative Exploration of End-of-Life Care Planning With Korean Americans Awareness, Attitudes, Barriers, and Preferences

This study aimed to explore how Korean American older adults viewed and anticipated engaging in end-of-life (EOL) care planning. An exploratory qualitative research design was adopted for the study, and data were collected through 3 focus group interviews. A total of 30 Korean American older adults 65 years or older participated in the study. A total of 10 themes emerged and were organized into 5 categories: (1) awareness (varying experience in EOL care planning and insufficient understanding about advance directives), (2) attitudes (comfort with talking about EOL and favorable views toward EOL planning), (3) barriers (concerns about noncompliance and concerns about change of mind), (4) preference for natural dying (life-sustaining treatment as added pain and suffering and no meaning of life when relying on life-sustaining treatment), and (5) preference for EOL planning process (EOL planning initiated by physicians and involvement of close family members). This exploratory study provides crucial insights into awareness and concerns regarding EOL care planning among Korean American older adults, updating existing evidence about their EOL needs. These findings support a culturally grounded approach to promote EOL planning for ethnic/racial minority groups.