An overwhelming majority of statistics has shown that spirituality often guides a person in making end-of-life health care decisions. This section is included as a need-based component for three reasons: first, a substantial part of preparing for eldercare is the implementation of a health care advance directive known as a Living Will. This document, which serves as your written guidance for your health care agent and physician, should therefore include any strongly held beliefs that might influence future medical care and end-of-life decisions. Secondly, the hospice and palliative care movement in this country has always incorporated a spiritual aspect into their caregiving and finally, numerous medical research studies and articles, such as those published in The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, The Gerontologist and The American Family Physician, have shown that spiritual health correlates with both physical and mental health.