Reflections on end-of-life care and perspective of nursing education for aging societies in asia

Access to high-quality care at the end-of-life is a fundamental human right; therefore, it is necessary to examine how end-of-life care should be taught in nursing education to prepare for a super-aging society. Japan and Hong Kong are both in the East Asian region and are facing similar super-aging challenges, such as increased mortality and declining birth rates. This paper explores the literature on this topic and discusses how end-of-life care is taught in undergraduate nursing education in both Japan and Hong Kong. A comprehensive literature search was performed using end-of-life care keywords. Subsequently, the authors engaged in a discourse on expert perspectives, insights, and results from the literature. It is necessary to bridge the gap between the desired manner of spending oneʼs final days and the practical reality of considering patientsʼ best interests by referring to the existing policies, laws, guidelines, and frameworks of healthcare systems. This study suggests the importance of understanding patientsʼ views on life, death, values, and cultural backgrounds and educating healthcare personnel to apply these principles flexibly in their practice.