Survey of Awareness of End-of-Life Care among University Students: A Comparison between Medical and Welfare Disciplines

We investigated awareness and attitudes of Japanese university students toward end-of-life care and advance care planning (ACP) to inform campus-based educational programs and promote ACP dissemination across generations. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 753 students at a university specializing in medical and welfare sciences. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing preferences for disclosure of terminal diagnoses, treatment decisions, and preferred place of death. Academic departments were classified into Medical sciences (n = 629) or Welfare sciences (n = 102), and group differences were analyzed using the chi-square test. Among 731 students, approximately 90% desired self-disclosure of a terminal diagnosis, whereas only 50.5% preferred disclosure to a spouse. While no group differences existed for disclosure preferences, place of death preferences significantly differed: medical students preferred home (80.8%) more frequently than welfare students (69.6%). Regarding end-of-life care, medical students were significantly less likely to choose aggressive interventions (e.g., ventilation, surgery) than welfare students. Conversely, welfare students were less likely to prefer artificial nutrition and hydration interventions than medical students. University students strongly favored disclosure of terminal illness and home-based end-of-life care. Differences between medical and welfare students likely reflect variation in familiarity with medical interventions. These findings underscore the importance of providing young adults with opportunities to consider ACP and engage in informed decision-making and dialogue with family members, thereby supporting person-centered care.