There is currently a great deal of interest and debate around the subject of end-of-life care in Canada. With the federal government introducing legislation to legalize medically-assisted death, and ever-rising health-care costs, what constitutes appropriate end-of-life care is a relevant and sensitive issue.

Approximately 500,000 Canadians are living with heart failure with 50,000 new patients diagnosed every year. It is estimated that 40-50% of patients with heart failure will die within 5 years of diagnosis.

Rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic inflammatory disease, affects approximately 1% of the Canadian population and is twice as common in women as in men. The disease is very painful and brings with it functional disability, psychological distress, decreased ability to work and premature death.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a brain-based disorder characterized by impaired social communication and repetitive or stereotypic behaviors that begin before three years of age. The prevalence of autism in the United States is about 1 in 88 children, but the prevalence in Canada is poorly defined.

Glomerulonephritis (GN) is a group of rare kidney diseases that has a high risk of progression to kidney failure, resulting in substantial comorbidity to patients and high costs to the health care system.

From left to right: Kim McGrail (Scientific Director, Population Data BC), Carolyn Gotay (Co-Director, UBC School of Population and Public Health), Dermot Kelleher (board member, BC SUPPORT Unit/BC Academic Health Science Network/Dean, UBC Faculty of Medicine), the Honourable Jane Philpott (Canada’s Minister of Health), Minnie Downey (Executive Director, BC SUPPORT Unit), the Hon