Advance care planning

Advance care planning is a process that enables individuals with decisional mental capacity to make plans about their future health care.[1] Advance care plans provide direction to healthcare professionals when a person is not in a position to make and/or communicate their own healthcare choices. Advance care planning is applicable to adults at all stages of life.[2] Participation in advance care planning has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety for patients and their families, and lead to improvements in end of life care.[3] Older adults are more directly concerned as they may experience a situation where advance care planning can be useful. However, a minority use them. A research conducted in Switzerland with people aged 71 to 80 showed that better knowledge on advance care planning dispositions could improve the perception older people have of them. Communication on dispositions should take into account individual knowledge levels and address commonly enunciated barriers that seem to diminish with increased knowledge.[4]

The main components of advance care planning include the nomination of a substitute decision maker, and the completion of an advance care directive.

  1. ^ Rietjens, Judith; et al. (September 2017). "Definition and recommendations for advance care planning: an international consensus supported by the European Association for Palliative Care" (PDF). The Lancet. 18 (9): E543–E551. doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(17)30582-X. PMID 28884703.
  2. ^ "A National Framework for Advance Care Directives" (PDF). Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council. September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  3. ^ Detering KM, Hancock AD, Reade MC, Silvester W (March 2010). "The impact of advance care planning on end of life care in elderly patients: randomised controlled trial". BMJ. 340. BMJ Publishing Group Ltd: c1345. doi:10.1136/bmj.c1345. PMC 2844949. PMID 20332506.
  4. ^ Cattagni Kleiner A, Santos-Eggimann B, Fustinoni S, Dürst AV, Haunreiter K, Rubli-Truchard E, Seematter-Bagnoud L (April 2019). "Advance care planning dispositions: the relationship between knowledge and perception". BMC Geriatrics. 19 (1): 118. doi:10.1186/s12877-019-1113-3. PMC 6480869. PMID 31014271.