Public opinion regarding consent to treatment.
OBJECTIVE
To examine public opinion regarding certain elements of consent: disclosure, advance directives, substitute decisions, emergency treatment, and advocacy.


METHODS
Cross-sectional random-digit-dialing telephonic survey.


METHODS
General public.


METHODS
One thousand randomly-selected adults living in Ontario.


METHODS
None.


METHODS
Self-reported attitudes and behaviors.


RESULTS
Of 5,708 telephone numbers drawn, 641 were non-valid or non-residential, 1,283 were not in service, 1,068 had no answer, a busy line, or an unavailable respondent, 147 subjects had a language barrier, 1,497 subjects refused, 72 interviews were incomplete, and 1,000 interviews were completed. With regard to disclosure, 33% of respondents said that a doctor should withhold information from a patient if asked to do so by the patient's family. With regard to advance directives, 36% of respondents had had advance discussions with their families, and 12% had completed a living will. With regard to substitute decisions, 77% of respondents said that they would went their wishes followed if they were unable to make medical decisions for themselves; 58% wanted their spouse or partner to make such decisions for them. With regard to emergency treatment, 48% of respondents stated that a doctor should give a life-saving blood transfusion to an unconscious adult carrying a card stating that blood transfusion was against his or her religious beliefs. With regard to advocacy, 78% of respondents supported mandatory advocacy services for serious health decisions such as whether to have heart surgery; 33% supported advocacy services for less serious decisions such as whether to have a dental filling.


CONCLUSIONS
These data highlight the need to reconsider legislative provisions regarding and/or target public education programs toward specific consent-related issues including disclosure, advance directives, substitute decisions, emergency treatment, and advocacy.
Singer
P A
PA
Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Choudhry
S
S
Armstrong
J
J
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D003657:Decision Making; D030881:Disclosure; D004630:Emergencies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016224:Living Wills; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario; D026706:Paternalism; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011639:Public Opinion; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013689:Telephone; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D028761:Withholding Treatment