Role of written advance directives in decision making

Respecting the values and preferences of adolescents regarding treatment is an essential dimension of nursing practice. As public policy and societal thinking about the role of minors in healthcare decisions evolves, critical care nurses are in a pivotal position to provide leadership and guidance. Critical care nurses who care for adolescents should embrace the opportunity created by the PSDA to implement creative strategies for involving minors in decision making, seek improved methods of assessing decision-making capacity, and document the values and preferences of minors.

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Advance directives and end-of-life decisions in Switzerland: role of patients, relatives and health professionals

BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care ◽

10.1136/bmjspcare-2014-000730 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 475-484 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Sophie Pautex ◽

Claudia Gamondi ◽

Yves Philippin ◽

Grégoire Gremaud ◽

François Herrmann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

End Of Life ◽

Advance Directives ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Medical Information ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Well Being ◽

Assessment System ◽

Spiritual Well Being

BackgroundLittle is known in Europe about end-of-life (EOL) decisions and advance directives (AD), particularly in patients with severe advanced disease. Switzerland is a multicultural and multilingual federal country and has the particularity of being divided into four linguistic and cultural regionsObjectiveTo understand better in different regions of Switzerland which specific patient's characteristics could have an impact on their decision to complete AD or not.Design/setting/participantsProspective study conducted in four palliative care units. Patients with an advanced oncological disease, fluent in French, German or Italian and with a Mini-Mental State Examination >20 were included. Demographic data, symptom burden (Edmonton Symptom Assessment System, ESAS; Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS) and spiritual well-being (Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual well-being, FACIT-sp) have been assessed. A structured questionnaire has been completed by patients, their relatives and health professionals.Results143 patients were included (mean age 68.3 years; 62 male). 41 completed ADs. No particular features were associated with the completion of ADs. Most patients were satisfied with the medical information received. A third of them were not worrying about their future, especially those living in the German-speaking part. Should they become unable to communicate, 87 expected their relative to transmit their own wishes, but only 38 had spoken recently with them about what they wanted. 23 of the 69 included relatives would like to play a more active role in decision-making.ConclusionsThese results illustrate the fact that terminally ill patients wish to be active in decision-making, but only seldom transmit their wishes to their relative or complete a written document. The discussion about ACP should be defined according to the particularity of each region and the role of healthcare professionals’ attitudes towards ADs, but we should also be creative and find other ways to promote shared decision-making.

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Elaborating the role of reflection and individual differences in the study of folk-economic beliefs

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x18000274 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 41 ◽

Author(s):

Kevin Arceneaux

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Cognitive Processes ◽

Evolutionary History ◽

Behavioral Responses ◽

History Of ◽

Economic Beliefs

AbstractIntuitions guide decision-making, and looking to the evolutionary history of humans illuminates why some behavioral responses are more intuitive than others. Yet a place remains for cognitive processes to second-guess intuitive responses – that is, to be reflective – and individual differences abound in automatic, intuitive processing as well.

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The Role of Shared Decision-Making in Audiologic Rehabilitation

Perspectives on Aural Rehabilitation and Its Instrumentation ◽

10.1044/arri21.1.15 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 15-23 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Helen Pryce ◽

Amanda Hall

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Shared Decision Making ◽

Behavior Changes ◽

Shared Decision ◽

Patient Centered ◽

Treatment Information ◽

Centered Care ◽

Potential Risks ◽

Audiologic Rehabilitation

Shared decision-making (SDM), a component of patient-centered care, is the process in which the clinician and patient both participate in decision-making about treatment; information is shared between the parties and both agree with the decision. Shared decision-making is appropriate for health care conditions in which there is more than one evidence-based treatment or management option that have different benefits and risks. The patient's involvement ensures that the decisions regarding treatment are sensitive to the patient's values and preferences. Audiologic rehabilitation requires substantial behavior changes on the part of patients and includes benefits to their communication as well as compromises and potential risks. This article identifies the importance of shared decision-making in audiologic rehabilitation and the changes required to implement it effectively.

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