Advance directives in Japanese nursing homes

Abstract

Context: Advance directives are poorly understood in Japanese nursing homes. In April 2006, additional funding for end-of-life care became available as the first support for terminal care at Japanese nursing homes.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to investigate the adoption of advance directives by Japanese nursing homes, the effect of additional funding for end-of-life care in nursing homes from long-term care insurance on the use of advance directives, and the types of directives used.

Methods: A nationwide questionnaire survey of nursing homes was performed in Japan. The participants were 913 nursing homes. We investigated the prevalence of advance directives, details of the directives, and demographic data of the responders.

Results: Advance directives were used in 58.4% of nursing homes. The timing of introduction of the directives and the results of multivariate analysis at the facility level suggested a relation between the availability of additional funding for end-of-life care and the adoption of advance directives. Most nursing homes used instructional directives, especially directives providing an explanation and informed consent for end-of-life care in the nursing home.

Conclusion: More than half of Japanese nursing homes have introduced advance directives, and additional funding for end-of-life care is related to their introduction. Most nursing homes have adopted instructional directives, especially those providing an explanation and informed consent regarding end-of-life care at the nursing home.