Attitudes toward advance directives and advance directive completion rates.
BACKGROUND
The Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA) (part of the ) requires that all healthcare institutions receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds inform patients about their right to participate in healthcare decisions, including their right to have an advance directive. Advance directives (ADs) allow an individual to participate indirectly in future medical care decisions if he or she becomes decisionally incapacitated. Despite passage of this bill and mechanisms within most healthcare institutions to provide this information, the AD completion rate remains low.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to identify the significant attitudes and factors that influence the completion of ADs among adult hospitalized patients admitted to medical/surgical units.


METHODS
Descriptive correlational survey design.


METHODS
A convenience sample of patients admitted to medical-surgical units during a 2-month period completed face-to-face interviews and completion of the Advance Directive Attitude Survey.


RESULTS
Eighty-two percent of the sample identified having received information on ADs, although hospital policy had it distributed to all patients on admission. Eighteen percent of the sample had completed an AD, and an additional 8% completed an AD after the interview and accompanying education during the interview for a 26% completion rate. The mean attitude toward ADs was slightly positive, and there was no difference in attitude score between those with an AD and those without.


CONCLUSIONS
Low completion rates of ADs among the majority of the population and even lower among ethnically diverse individuals despite favorable attitudes toward ADs suggest that there are factors beyond access to information that may influence the decision not to complete an AD. Results of this study are congruent with other research raising the question of whether ADs as currently designed are appropriate for all groups.
Salmond
Susan W
SW
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, School of Nursing, Newark, USA.
David
Estrella
E
D000328:Adult; D016223:Advance Directives / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006304:Health Status; D006764:Hospitals, Community; D006786:Hospitals, Urban; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009515:New Jersey; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019726:Patient Self-Determination Act; D036301:Qualitative Research; D044469:Racial Groups; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States