Abstract
Abstract
Identifying diversity among immigrants in the palliative care setting is essential. It is vital to understand the country of origin and to have an understanding of the country’s regions, customs, specific characteristics, and geographical features that facilitates engagement and interventions with immigrants and their families. The ability to identify language preferences, religious/spiritual beliefs, and health beliefs during serious illness and at the end of their lives enables communication regarding treatment decisions. Social workers need to inform patients and their family members that they will maintain their confidentiality with regard to immigration status issues. Recognizing, validating, and exploring beliefs related to truth telling is important in serious illness and end-of-life care. Additionally, immigrants’ requests for palliative treatment and their wishes concerning the place of death and burial must be proactively assessed in the context of serious illness and its impact on mixed-status families.