Multicultural Immigrant Experiences at End of Life

We are sharing our personal observations and stories as witnesses to end of life experiences with immigrant parents and patients.

While many issues we will bring up are universal at the end of life, we are speaking to them through a POC-Asian lens. In sharing our stories, we hope to raise awareness and open a forum to discuss the clash of cultures that can occur for immigrants as they experience end of life. What an immigrant may need in the areas of communications, decision making, comfort, community, identity, and grief often is at odds with a more unilateral Euro/Western-centric model of dying. We hope our audience leaves with a better understanding of issues to be aware of and how to better advocate such that the end of life process is the best it can be outside of people's home lands and cultures.

Tida Beattie is Thai-American and is training to be an eldercare consultant and end of life doula. Roshni Kavate is Indian-American and is a palliative care nurse. They met in a Reimagine breakout room and discovered they both want to bring to light marginalized immigrant experiences with the US healthcare system at end of life.