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Three East Asian countries, Korea, China, and Japan, have shared a similar cultural background throughout history. This is the basis of the assumption of Asian values in the field of bioethics. However, different processes of modernization and healthcare systems have resulted in considerable differences. Along with the aging process, end-of-life care issues have been increasing in importance in these three countries. We conducted a study of 899 lay persons in 3 countries regarding their perspectives about end-of-life decisions; favorable ways of decision-making in end-of-life care; institutional and legal devices; withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment; and euthanasia. We confirmed several similarities and noted some differences among the three countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this study were to understand Spanish nurses' knowledge about living wills and legal regulations and to explore their experiences, needs and challenges in these situations using quantitative and qualitative approaches. The first part of the study was a descriptive survey administered to a convenience sample of nurses (454 individuals) who worked in hospitals and other primary care clinics in the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. The survey tested their knowledge of living wills and related major legal issues. At the end of the survey, the nurses were asked to provide a personal email address if they were interested in participating in a personal interview. In the second part of this study, we used a qualitative phenomenological approach based on Husserl's framework. The results indicate that nurses are not sufficiently knowledgeable about the use of LWD in clinical practise. As a consequence, they are unable to support patient autonomy in health care treatment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]