Premium
Advance Directive Completion Rates and End‐of‐Life Preferences in Hawaii
Author(s) -
Braun Kathryn L.,
Onaka Alvin T.,
Horiuchi Brian Y.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1046/j.1532-5415.2001.49284.x
Subject(s) - medicine , ethnic group , directive , end of life care , gerontology , population , preference , advance care planning , family medicine , power of attorney , health care , demography , palliative care , nursing , law , environmental health , sociology , political science , computer science , microeconomics , economics , programming language
To estimate rates of advance directive completion, preference for in‐home death and hospice services at life's end, and support for physician assistance in dying, questions were added to two statewide, random‐sample telephone surveys—the 1998 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (N = 2,153) and the 1999 OmniTrak health survey (N = 700). Data were compared across age, ethnic, and gender groups. Overall, 29% of Hawaii residents had a living will, 22% had a healthcare power of attorney, 65% said they would prefer a home death, 60% would want hospice services, 64% believed a person had a moral right to end his or her life when faced with an incurable illness, and 63% felt doctors should be allowed by law to end a patient's life if the patient and his or her family requested it. Advance directive completion rates increased with age, desire for an in‐home death varied by gender and ethnicity, and support of assisted‐death options varied by ethnicity. Despite a large minority population, end‐of‐life preferences among the general population in Hawaii are similar to those of U.S. mainlanders. However, age, gender, and ethnic differences exist. Clinicians are encouraged to ask patients directly about their preferences as a first step toward improving end‐of‐life care.