Taiwan ranked first in Asia for hospice and palliative care, the World Map of Palliative Care released by a WHO collaborating center said.
The report, released earlier this month by ATLANTES Global Observatory of Palliative Care at the University of Navarra in Spain, analyzed and compared the status in 201 countries.
The global ranking is headed by Germany, followed by the Netherlands and Taiwan.
Photo: CNA
As of Oct. 12, more than 1.09 million people in the nation had signed an advance decision, and more than 670,000 people had signed an advance directive for organ donation, Ministry of Health and Welfare data showed.
This year, 64,396 people have added a hospice care annotation to their National Health Insurance (NHI) information, while 32,975 have registered as organ donors and 25,149 people selected an advanced decision annotation, the ministry said.
The largest age group with a hospice care decision are those aged 60 to 69, accounting for 24 percent, followed by people aged 50 to 59, accounting for 18 percent.
The largest age group with an advance decision are also those aged 60 to 69, accounting for 27 percent, followed by people aged 50 to 59, accounting for 21 percent.
The numbers show that more Taiwanese are willing to make advance plans for the final stages of their lives, demonstrating their concern for patient autonomy and the importance of a dignified death, the ministry’s Department of Medical Affairs Director-General Liu Yueh-ping (劉越萍) said on Saturday.
Since the Hospice Palliative Care Act (安寧緩和醫療條例) took effect more than 25 years ago, public support for it along with two related acts — the Human Organ Transplantation (人體器官移植條例) and the Patient Right to Autonomy (病人自主權利法) acts — have gradually increased, the Taiwan Organ Sharing Registry and Patient Autonomy Promotion Center (TORSC) said.
More people are willing to plan ahead and communicate in advance to maintain their dignity and quality of life at the end of their lives.
The ministry encourages people to use their NHI card and Citizen Digital Certificate to log into the online advance decision, palliative care and organ donation intention information system to sign hospice care, organ donation and advance decision documents, Liu said.
The ministry also encourages people to attend the TORSC’s life and death education courses to better understand the importance of advance planning for hospice care, organ donation and end-of-life decisions, she said.
People should openly speak with family members about their thoughts on a dignified death, she added.
Animal companionship can also help ease pain and feelings of loneliness, and specially trained animals can provide emotional support and assist in hospice care, the TORSC said.
Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, National Taiwan University Hospital’s Yunlin branch and Mackay Memorial Hospital have introduced therapy dogs to their hospice care units to provide comfort and calmness to patients and their family members, the TORSC said.
As Taiwan is on the course of becoming a super-aged society, the value and meaning of holistic care should be promoted, it said, adding that everyone has the right to pursue a peaceful and dignified death.
The TORSC on Saturday held an outdoor charity run event at Taipei’s Daan Forest Park, which more than 1,000 people attended.
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