End of Life Choices and Storytelling—Exploring Preferences and Conflicts

End of life choices and storytelling -exploring preferences and conflictsAs people are living longer, their needs for health and social care at the end of life (EoL) are increasing.People are encouraged to make choices about their EoL, but doing so is a complex process, and there is currently little research into how -and if -people engage with this.Our study investigated older people's EoL choice making, through twenty interviews with people aged 70 plus.We found that storytelling enabled people to make sense of and reflect on previous EoL experiences, and form, elaborate on, and justify their own EoL preferences.Stories also brought to the fore the inherent conflicts in making EoL choices, and emphasised that in reality choices for many are limited.Key words: care, death, dying, end of life, storytelling With people living longer and facing increasing health and social care needs in their later years (Kelly), making choices about end of life (EoL) care is framed as being necessary for a positive ageing experience and a "good death" (Borgstrom).Policy rhetoric in the UK, as well as in countries including the USA, Canada, Australia, and parts of Europe (see Borgstrom; Brinkman-Stoppelenburg et al., Collyer et al.; Wolf et al.), focuses on individuals' right to make choices about their EoL (Department of Health; Dying Matters; National Palliative and End of Life Care Partnership), including who provides care, where it is provided, what is provided, and place of death (Borgstrom and Walter; Department of Health).Making choices is deemed as "a triumph over the potential for failure and lack of control that death and dying present" (Borgstrom 706).Choice is frequently equated with dying at home, with this seen by governments and policymakers as preferable to a hospital death (Bone et al.; Collyer et al.; Froggatt).