Abstract

With the advancement of society, there has been increasing attention on end-of-life care services for terminally ill cancer patients. These services play a crucial role in stabilizing society and fostering harmonious families. Developing end-of-life care services with Chinese characteristics is an essential area that requires in-depth investigation. As the cornerstone of traditional Chinese culture, family culture holds profound significance, permeating various aspects of Chinese society. Therefore, integrating and interacting the principles of social work with Chinese family culture is imperative for developing end-of-life care services that are tailored to the Chinese context. Based on a multi-case study of end-of-life care services, this research first explores the importance of Chinese family culture in end-of-life care services. It then provides a detailed analysis of the positive and negative effects of this culture on end-of-life care for terminally ill cancer patients. Finally, this study proposes specific pathways for medical social work intervention in end-of-life care services. These pathways are designed to mitigate the negative influences of family culture and harness its positive effects. This research aims to align end-of-life care services with indigenous Chinese family culture. It advocates for the localization of end-of-life care services across different provinces and regions in China. This will foster a unique model of end-of-life care services and promote the localized development and effectiveness of medical social work intervention in end-of-life care services.