The Project on Death in America

From its inception in July of 1994 to the present, the Project on Death in America (PDIA) has provided funding for individuals and institutions to address, through research and model systems of care, the barriers to appropriate compassionate care of the dying. The major medical, social and economic impediments include: changes in the trajectory of dying, exemplified by large numbers of patients living for months or years after diagnosis of incurable diseases such as cancer and AIDS; the increasing age of the population; high-technology medical support systems for patients with respiratory and cardiac failure; the greater emphasis on patient autonomy, along with the concerted shift from societal to individual rights; and the limitations in healthcare resources, particularly for patients with chronic medical illness. The mission of PDIA is to understand and transform the culture and experience of dying through initiatives in research and scholarship, the arts and humanities, through innovations in provision of care, through public and professional education and through public policy [www.soros.org/death]. PDIA is a programme of the Open Society Institute, a non-profit foundation created by George Soros to support the development of open societies worldwide [www.soros.org]. Mr Soros established the project because of his own experiences with the death of his parents. PDIA has committed $35 million over the past 7 years and another $15 million will be granted in the next 2 years to help build capacity and institutionalize palliative care. PDIA has created and funded a Faculty Scholars Program, a Social Work Leaders Program and a nursing leadership summit and consortium. It has also funded a broadly based grants programme, and through a series of special initiatives has attempted to focus attention on the needs of vulnerable populations—with special attention to children, prisoners, minorities and the elderly.