The perceptions of end-of-life decision making and hospice care of IU Mien elders

The use of hospice services has increased over past 10 years, but minority access has been limited (Harber, 1999). In order to better understand the reasons for limited access to hospice by the Iu Mien community, this study explored the perceptions of death, end-of-life (EOL) decision-making, and attitudes about hospice philosophy of Iu Mien elders (N = 8). The Iu Mien community in the United States is small (approximately 35-50,000) (Barker & Saechao, 1997; Macdonald, 1997; Schuldberg, 2005) with unique spiritual and religious beliefs. Since the literature is limited on this population, it is vital to learn about how to better serve their community. The results of the study indicated that not only is the Iu Mien community influential in an individual's perception of death and dying, but that there is a need for culturally sensitive educational outreach regarding EOL care, including hospice services, to the Iu Mien community.