Age-Friendly Insights Poll: Adults 50+ Overwhelmingly Want Palliative Care, Once They Know What It Is
The John A. Hartford Foundation (JAHF) asked adults 50+ in America their views on planning and care for serious illness and what matters to them. While unfamiliar with palliative care and advance care planning, when these terms are explained, people overwhelmingly want access to both. Most adults also trust that what matters to them will be respected by the health care system, even though conversations about their wishes aren’t occurring.
Download and share an overview.
Key poll findings include:
- Knowledge gaps about planning and care for serious illness persist, but both are very important to adults 50+.
- 97% of adults 50+ think it is important to have access to advance care planning when it is defined for them, yet 40% are slightly or not at all familiar with the term.
- 96% of adults 50+ think it is important to have access to palliative care when it is defined, but 55% are slightly or not at all familiar with the term.
- There are differences by race. 70% of Black adults 50+ are slightly or not at all familiar with palliative care, compared to 55% of Hispanic and 53% of white adults.
- People want, expect and trust that what matters to them will be respected if they face a serious illness.
- Most adults 50+ (82%) say they trust the health care system to provide them with care that takes what matters to them into account.
- Clinicians need to meet their patient’s expectations by talking about planning and care for serious illness, and everyone should talk to their families about what matters to them if they became seriously ill.
- Almost all adults 50+ polled (99%) think it is important for their health care team to offer specialized care that can improve their quality of life such as relief from pain and other symptoms.
- Half of respondents (54%) reported that within the last two years, no health care professional, be it a doctor, nurse, or other staff, initiated a conversation about what matters to them in their health care.
- 98% of adults 50+ say that if faced with a serious illness and unable to speak for themselves, it is important that those making decisions on their behalf understand what matters to them.
- Less than half (47%) believe that if they become too sick to make their own decisions, people speaking on their behalf will completely know what matters most to them regarding their healthcare.
Clinician-initiated conversations about planning and care for serious illness are critical to age-friendly care. Experts say these conversations need to begin long before patients are faced with these decisions.
The John A. Hartford Foundation has resources to help professionals and the public understand and take action so that everyone facing serious illness receives high-quality, age-friendly care.
For clinicians and professionals working with older adults:
- Serious Illness Messaging Toolkit
- The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) MOTIVATE: Marketing and Messaging Palliative Care
- Vital Talk
For older adults and family caregivers:
- The Conversation Project Conversation Guides*
- PREPARE for your Care*
- Get Palliative Care website*
- Transgender Law Center: Planning for Lifelong Care
*Resource available in multiple languages
For health system leaders and policymakers:
- Educating the Public about Palliative Care
- Respecting Choices
- The Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC) resources
- Ariadne Labs Serious Illness Care Program
The poll, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago, is part of Age-Friendly Insights, a JAHF series measuring opinions on issues related to improving the care of older adults and support for family caregivers. Read our previous poll insights.
All organizations and individuals working to advance access to serious illness care can use this research in their own work. We appreciate your attribution to The John A. Hartford Foundation.
To learn more about the poll:
- Scan the overview of poll results
- Review the narrative report, methodology and dive deeper into the data from NORC
Share these social posts to spread the survey’s findings:
- X: Talk about a communications gap: According to a new poll commissioned by @johnahartford, 96% of adults 50+ think access to #PalliativeCare is important when defined, but more than half are not familiar with the term. Find resources to help bridge the gap: https://bit.ly/JAHF_AFI5
- LinkedIn: According to a new poll commissioned by @The John A. Hartford Foundation, planning and care for serious illness is unfamiliar to adults 50+ but strongly desired once defined. What does this tell us? Clinicians need to talk to their patients about what matters to them, especially about planning for serious illness. And EVERYONE needs to talk to family members. View the full poll findings now: https://bit.ly/JAHF_AFI5
#SeriousIllness #WhatMatters