title: Barriers that predict resistance to completing a living will.
abstract: We sought to identify perceived barriers and benefits to completing living wills for 176 medical outpatients or their family members, using a questionnaire based on the Health Belief Model.  The regression equation of the patient data identified two items that functioned as significant barriers: "I am not very interested in a living will because I believe that I will live a lot longer," and "Completing a living will now is difficult because I would likely change my mind about how I want to be managed during terminal illness."  No variables remained in the equation when family member data were analyzed.  We conclude that a major barrier to the completion of living wills (and perhaps advance directives generally) is that they connote personal death.  Implications are explored.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Family Medicine and Neurology, College of Medicine, Ohio State University, Columbus, USA.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vandecreek
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Frankowski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001293:Attitude to Death; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016224:Living Wills; D008297:Male; D010361:Patients; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D035501:Uncertainty