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. 2024 Apr;43(4):349-362.
doi: 10.1177/07334648231214905. Epub 2023 Nov 20.

Advance Care Planning: A Story of Trust Within the Family

Lory A Iunius  1 , Sarah Vilpert  1   2 , Clément Meier  1   2 , Ralf J Jox  3   4 , Gian Domenico Borasio  3 , Jürgen Maurer  1
Affiliations

Advance Care Planning: A Story of Trust Within the Family

Lory A Iunius et al. J Appl Gerontol. 2024 Apr.

Abstract

As the family usually plays a central role at the end of life, the quality of family relationships may influence how individuals approach advance care planning (ACP). Our study investigates the associations of trust in relatives with regard to end-of-life (EOL) issues-used as a proxy measure of family relationship quality-with individuals' engagement in EOL discussions, advance directive (AD) awareness, approval and completion, and designation of a healthcare proxy. Using nationally representative data of adults aged 55 years and over from wave 6 (2015) of the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe (SHARE) in Switzerland (n = 1911), we show that complete trust in relatives is related to higher engagement in ACP. Subject to patient consent, the family should, therefore, be included in the ACP process, as such practice could enhance patient-centered EOL care and quality of life at the end of life.

Keywords: advance care planning; advance directives; family; population-based study; trust.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Respondents’ approaches towards Advance Care Planning by level of trust in relatives, weighted percentage, and 95% confidence intervals, adults aged 55+, SHARE Switzerland, 2015.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Respondents’ interlocutors for Advance Care Planning, weighted percentages, and 95% confidence intervals, adults aged 55+, SHARE Switzerland, 2015 (Note. Respondents could choose more than one category).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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