Dialysis patients' preferences for family-based advance care planning.
BACKGROUND
Most patients do not participate in advance care planning with physicians.


OBJECTIVE
To examine patients' preferences for involving their physicians and families in advance care planning.


METHODS
Face-to-face interviews with randomly selected patients.


METHODS
Community-based dialysis units in one rural and one urban region.


METHODS
400 hemodialysis patients.


METHODS
Questions about whom patients involve in advance care planning, whom patients would like to include in this planning, and patients' reactions to state legislation on surrogate decision makers in end-of-life care.


RESULTS
Patients more frequently discussed preferences for end-of-life care with family members than with physicians (50% compared with 6%; P < 0.001). More patients wanted to include family members in future discussions of advance care planning than wanted to include physicians (91% compared with 36%; P < 0.001). Patients were most comfortable with legislation that granted their family end-of-life decision-making authority in the event of their own incapacity (P < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Most patients want to include their families more than their physicians in advance care planning.
Hines
S C
SC
West Virginia University, Morgantown 26506-9022, USA.
Glover
J J
JJ
Holley
J L
JL
Babrow
A S
AS
Badzek
L A
LA
Moss
A H
AH
D000328:Adult; D032722:Advance Care Planning; D016223:Advance Directives / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D000368:Aged; D003657:Decision Making; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology*; D010414:Pennsylvania; D010819:Physician's Role; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012424:Rural Population; D035502:Trust; D014481:United States; D014505:Urban Population; D014903:West Virginia