Planning My Way, Espanol: A Guide for the Spanish-Speaking Community
Making decisions about your healthcare, especially at the end of life, can be tough for anyone. These conversations may be even harder for Spanish-speaking communities, due to language barriers, cultural differences, or a lack of understanding about advanced care directives.
The Cunniff-Dixon Foundation (CDF) works to improve the patient-provider relationship at the end of life through education and support. Realizing many individuals lack the resources to make important healthcare decisions, CDF created a guide for end-of-life planning called Planning My Way in English. In 2019, CDF introduced the Spanish version: Planning My Way, Espanol.
How Planning My Way, Espagnol Can Help:
- Language Barriers: Many advanced care documents are in English, which can be difficult for those who don’t speak the language fluently. Even translated versions may not always be clear or culturally sensitive, leading to confusion.
- Cultural Differences: In many Spanish-speaking families, healthcare decisions are made by relatives, not individuals. This makes it harder for people to think about and plan their care.
- Legal Complexity: Some people find legal documents overwhelming. They may feel advanced care directives are too complicated or they need expert help to understand them.
- Limited Awareness: Many in Spanish-speaking communities may not know about advanced care directives or understand their purpose. In some cultures, verbal agreements have been the norm, making written documents unfamiliar.
- Discomfort with Death: In some cultures, talking about death or end-of-life care can be uncomfortable or even taboo. This can make it difficult for people to think about or discuss these decisions.
- Emotional Impact: Planning for the end of life can be emotionally tough, especially when families are involved in decision-making.
- Misinformation: Legal and medical jargon can be confusing, and translated documents might not always explain things clearly, leading to misunderstandings.
- Lack of Resources: In some areas, there aren’t enough Spanish-speaking healthcare professionals to help people complete advanced care directives, leaving them feeling unsupported.
To help address these issues, Planning My Way, Espanol was created to guide Spanish-speaking individuals and families to think about their healthcare preferences, understand their options, and communicate what matters most to them.
Planning My Way Espanol is a simple workbook that helps people consider their values and healthcare preferences. It walks them through a process to create an advanced care directive, to be sure their wishes are clear. Planning My Way Espanol has been carefully translated to ensure it’s accessible and relevant for Spanish-speaking communities.
To access the complimentary version of Planning My Way Espanol, visit https://www.planningmyway.org/esp.
If you need additional information or have inquiries on using Planning My Way Espanol for groups, please contact susan@cunniffdixon.org.
Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash