Abstract

Background: Advance care planning (ACP) is an underutilized process that involves thinking about what kind of life-prolonging medical care one would want should the need arise, identifying a spokesperson, and then communicating these wishes. Objective: To better understand what influences individuals to engage in ACP. Design: Three focus groups using semistructured interactive interviews were conducted with 23 older individuals from 3 diverse populations in central Pennsylvania. Results: Four categories of influences for engaging in ACP were identified: (1) concern for self; (2) concern for others; (3) expectations about the impact of ACP; and (4) anecdotes, stories, and experiences. Conclusions: The motivations for undertaking ACP that we have identified offer health care providers insight into effective strategies for facilitating the process of ACP with their patients.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)306-312
Number of pages7
JournalAmerican Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Volume27
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 2010

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Medicine(all)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'What influences individuals to engage in advance care planning?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this