title: The attitude of Canadian nurses towards advance directives.
abstract: This article seeks to shed light on the beliefs that influence nurses' intention of respecting or not respecting an advance directive document, namely a living will or a durable power of attorney. Nurses' beliefs were measured using a 44-statement questionnaire. The sample was made up of 306 nurses working either in a long-term care centre or in a hospital centre offering general and specialized care in the province of Québec. The results indicate that nurses have a strong intention of complying with advance directives written by patients. The analysis also shows that four variables determine the strength of this intention: respect for autonomy; the location of the workplace; justice; and the dimension of relationships and emotions. Although these documents favour the expression of patients' wishes, nurses should be aware that they do not systematically guarantee respect of a patient's autonomy, nor do they replace a relationship based on trust between patients and health care professionals.
authors.affiliation: Faculté des Sciences Infirmières, Université Laval, Sainte-Foy, Québec G1K 7P4, Canada.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blondeau
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lavoie
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Valois
authors.forename: E W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Keyserlingk
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hébert
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Martineau
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016223:Advance Directives / Q000523:psychology*; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002170:Canada; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010344:Patient Advocacy / Q000592:standards