Taking Charge of Your Health Care Decisions — Dr. Dan Morhaim
In his recent book, The Better End, Dr. Dan Morhaim calls upon young adults, parents, caregivers and health care professionals to recognize — and act upon — the value of the advance directive. Dr. Morhaim writes,
We have been given a gift: the opportunity to actively participate in the drama of life’s final passage. To prepare for it, we need to take action – carefully considering, and then completing, an advance directive.
What began as a research project with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to investigate the frequency of advance directives and the population’s attitudes towards them has culminated in this thoughtfully crafted resource. The Better End is designed to motivate family members to reach out to their health care providers and find the necessary resources to properly prepare for late stage illness.
Dr. Morhaim’s experiences working on public policy legislation regarding end-of-life care as the Deputy Majority Leader of the Maryland House of Delegates revealed the data in question was scarce. In the state of Maryland, for instance, Dr. Morhaim found that 80% of people over age 18 wanted their end-of-life wishes to be respected yet only 1/3 of these people have completed advance directives. Racial and cultural differences exist as whites are twice as likely to have completed an advance directive compared to African Americans.
What are the reasons for low adoption of the advance directive? Dr. Morhaim identifies major barriers to successfully completing the form, including access to information and our society’s inability to engage in positive discourse concerning death and dying. The latter marks the ultimate challenge facing the modern medical world and those suffering chronic illness. Misconceptions exist as to the time one might need to complete the document or the cost of this service. The Better End provides insights to resources where one can access the necessary forms where no fees apply.
For more information on Dr. Dan Morhaim and The Better End please visit: www.thebetterend.com
Call to Action: Raising awareness of advance illness issues as they affect the American public and professional communities is critical. Do you have a question, book or article relating to advanced illness that you would like featured on C-TAC’s blog? Please email Brendan Sinatro at: [email protected].
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Brendan J. Sinatro, M.P.H. Public Engagement Volunteer – Behavior Change Coordinator
Brendan received his Master of Public Health degree from the George Washington University. After volunteering as a Patient Liaison with the Geisinger Medical System, he grew fascinated with the field of health promotion. Scholastic pursuits and professional experiences have equipped Brendan with a detailed understanding of the core competencies of health communication theory and practice; social marketing campaign planning, development, implementation and evaluation. He revers the rigor of data and embraces the importance of accuracy when tailoring communication platforms to execute media relation’s initiatives.
