A program at Creighton University seeks to help families talk about end-of-life issues.
The program is called “It’s All About the Conversation.” The goal is to get families talking about end-of-life issues with aging or seriously ill loved ones. Helen Chapple, assistant professor in Creighton’s Center for Health Policy and Ethics, says while such conversations can be difficult to have, they’re important to making sure loved ones’ final plans are followed.
"Certainly it becomes important as people near the end of their lives, as they get older, as the horizon of the end of their lives comes a little bit closer, that it’s a good idea to talk about what it is that you want for yourself. An advanced directive is a nice thing, but even just having a conversation about what the kind of things are that you might want or might not want can be very important."
Chapple says the Nebraska Hospice and Palliative Care Association estimates that 50 percent of Nebraskans have had conversations with loved ones about end-of-life issues. She presented the program this week at the Nebraska State Fair.
More information is available at itsallaboutheconversation.org, or by visiting theconversationproject.org.