Foreword: planning for the future through advance directive instruments

Abstract

The Foreword traces the development of advance directive instruments and discusses their legal enforceability and many benefits. Despite their advantages, advance directives remain underused and are frequently ignored by service providers. The contributors to this special issue discuss why this is so and offer and debate a variety of remedial proposals. They analyze the various legal, clinical, ethical, and practical issues presented by the use of advance directives for health and mental health care and examine new directions in their application. The Foreword describes the organization of this special issue, summarizes the articles it contains, and comments on their significance.