Strengthening end-of-life care for African-American patients and families through education and community outreach

Care for African-American patients and families at the end of life presents a unique challenge to healthcare providers. Providers need to be culturally and historically competent to effectively serve persons with a long history of distrust of the white-dominated healthcare system. Effective means of addressing outreach, access, and service issues for this community need to be twofold. They must focus on those who deliver the care and those who receive it. This twofold focus inspired the education and community outreach that were key elements in this ACE Project. The resources of the Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life (ICEOL), particularly their APPEAL curriculum, was key to strengthening end-of-life care in the internal culture of Abington Memorial Hospital and the community they serve.