Theoretical issues associated with cultural readiness for end-of-life care planning in Taiwan

I examined the use of the transtheoretical model in the context of end-of-life advance care planning in Taiwan. My aim was to address several theoretical concerns given the complexity of characterizing and defining the individual patient’s readiness for ACP. I also investigated the need to design an appropriate stage-based outcome measure, addressed the problem of using inaccurate time points to differentiate among the various ACP stages, and noted difficulties in describing processes of behavioral change. Further research is necessary to understand better how Taiwanese people with terminal illnesses and their families progress through the process of planning end-of-life treatment and care, in order to shed light on the optimal design of ACP for a Chinese population.