Caregiving involves many difficult conversations and topics, especially as people age and health fails. Such issues become even more complex when parents are stubborn or don’t fully understand the topics at hand.
End-of-life is one of these challenging areas. The topic is hard for seniors to consider – and it’s tough on caregivers too.
Most of us don’t really want to think about death and dying. Yet, the topic is critical, especially for those who will be left behind. In fact, many people don’t think or talk about this area until a crisis occurs. That’s never a good thing and sometimes means that the conversations cannot be held.
This is where advanced care planning comes in. The process includes people thinking about what they want at end-of-life. This includes aspects like:
- Who makes healthcare decisions if the senior is unable to
- What life saving measures they want in place (for example, do they want to be put on a ventilator, should that become necessary)
- What happens after they die
The field can seem overwhelming, especially at first. There are so many different things to consider and the conversations are tough anyway. There is also the legal side of things to consider, with requirements changing from one state to the next.
To help in these areas, we developed a series of posts, addressing different elements of advance planning. The list below shows each of the posts in the series, along with a short description.
Advance Care Planning – How to Plan for the Future
Here we offer a general introduction to the concept of advance care planning, including why it is important and how you can get started.
Advance Care Planning – Options, Approaches and What You Can Expect
This post delves into the individual types of advance care planning, how they differ and what their advantages are. It’s a great starting point if you’re overwhelmed about the concepts. We also talk a little about how requirements differ across states.
How to Talk to a Senior About End-of-Life Concerns
This article focuses on how you can start up conversations about end-of-life, along with some tools that can help. The topic is often a challenging one and can be emotionally draining. But, the right approaches can make a large amount of difference.
The Limitations of Advance Care Directives
In this article, we talk about advance care directives from a practical perspective. Despite their importance, the directives often aren’t followed, for various reasons. We also talk about the steps that families can take to promote the best outcomes.
POLST as an Alternative to Advance Care Directives
This article looks at one specific type of advance care, POLST forms. These forms are only used in specific situations. But, they are an interesting tool and may apply to some readers.
Other Content
The above pieces were written to complement one another and tackle different areas of advance planning. But, we have also highlighted related topics elsewhere on the site. The list below focuses on key pieces of content that tie into the field.
Effectively Caring for Stubborn Parents
This is one of our most popular pieces and takes a detailed look at stubbornness in seniors. It includes discussions of the underlying reasons why seniors are stubborn and how you can respond to the behavior as a caregiver. While the post isn’t about end-of-life specifically, many of the concepts do apply.
Why Conversations about Death and End-of-Life Planning are Critical
This post takes a brief look at why the topic actually matters. It’s easy to ignore advance planning, but there are key reasons why the conversations need to be held.
Talking about Advance Directives and End-of-Life Care
This short article takes the same approach as some of the others but it is a simpler piece. It makes a great introduction to end-of-life topics. It also features a powerful infographic from VITAS Healthcare.
Myths and Realities of Assisted Living for Seniors
This piece tackles the idea of assisted living. Assisted living can be a scary concept, one that often suggests a loss of independence. And, as we’ve highlighted elsewhere, assisted living doesn’t always provide the support you may expect. Even so, it can be a valuable approach that helps reduce risk for seniors and improve quality of life.
What do you think? Have we missed any key areas on the topic of advance planning? If so, please let us know in the comments section below.
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