The survey was conducted with a sample of around 1,000 regular members of the public, some 2,000 patients and their family members and just over 900 medical staff members. (Image: Kobiz Media)
SEOUL, May 30 (Korea Bizwire) – South Koreans believe they have a long way to go for the culture of ‘dying well’ to be widely understood and entrenched in society, according to a new medical survey.
The survey released yesterday by Seoul National University’s College of Medicine on hospice facilities and palliative care revealed over 4,000 respondents gave an average score of 58.3 out of 100 when asked how well and easy it is in South Korea to die well, with 100 being a society where everyone can lead a happy and meaningful life and die peacefully while 0 being the opposite.
The survey was conducted with a sample of around 1,000 regular members of the public, some 2,000 patients and their family members and just over 900 medical staff members.
Among the members of the public, the average score was 65 out of 100, while patients responded with 59.9.
Medical staff members held the least favorable view of the likelihood of dying well in South Korea.
When asked about what is most important element of dying well, both members of the public and patients said “to not give any burden for others to bear”, while family members of patients and doctors said “being with someone special like family members”.
Among the medical policy proposals to improve the culture of dying well, a policy of having mandatory volunteers allocated to patients in their final days was agreed on overwhelmingly by all of the survey respondents.
M.H.Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
