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

    27 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

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