A Population-Based Study on Advance Directive Completion and Completion Intention among Citizens of the Western Canadian Province of Alberta.

Donna Wilson, Dirk Houttekier, S Aliyar, Birch Stephen, Joachim Cohen, Rod Macleod, Hewitt Jessica

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

26 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Determining what proportion of the public has completed an advance directive and which population subgroups complete or do not complete such a directive is crucially important for planning purposes. Our research objective was to examine and compare advance directive completion, intention to complete, and noncompletion rates among citizens of one Canadian province. A telephone survey was conducted with 1,203 Albertans who met gender, age, and other requirements for a representative sample. When asked, "Do you have a living will or personal directive?" 43.6 percent reported having completed a directive and 42.1 percent indicated that they planned or intended to complete one. Completion rates increased with age. Widowed, self-employed, and retired people, and those who had lost a family member or friend and had other select end-of-life experiences and viewpoints were significantly more likely to have completed one. Although older people more often had an advance directive, personal life-and-death experiences should be recognized as major influences on directive completion.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5-12
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Palliative Care
Volume29
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 2013

Keywords

  • advance care planning
  • living will
  • completion rates
  • public opinion poll
  • Canada

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A Population-Based Study on Advance Directive Completion and Completion Intention among Citizens of the Western Canadian Province of Alberta.'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this