A Record of Accomplishment in End-of-Life Care

Publication Date: December 2004

Publisher: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Author(s): Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Research Area: Health

Type: Report

Abstract:

In 2005, Last Acts—a highly acclaimed Robert Wood Johnson Foundation national program—came to a close. The program's Web site, www.lastacts.org, ceased publication at the same time. Much of the content of the Last Acts Web site is archived on the RWJF.org Web site.

Last Acts created a wealth of useful Web content—for health care consumers, health-care practitioners, policy-makers and employers. In this Web archive, RWJF presents a selection of Last Acts editorial content. The articles appear here much as they appeared on the Last Acts Web site, occasionally with some editing or abridgement to conform to Robert Wood Johnson Foundation editorial requirements.

Information includes:

* Music to the Ears of the Dying
* CPR: It's Not Quite Like 'ER'
* When Patients Cannot Eat or Drink
* Decision-Making Isn't Just a Family Matter
* Care for the Spirit
* Improving Care for African Americans near the End of Life
* Children Die, Too
* Caregiving by Family Members
* Cancer in the African-American Community
* How Much Does It Hurt?

The articles are presented primarily for their historical interest, to illustrate the depth of the Foundation's long commitment to quality end-of-life care. Many of the articles remain current, but readers are advised that some of the information could be dated.