| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 老年學研究所 === 103 === SUMMARY
Objective: To investigate the elderly patients in the intensive care units (ICUs) and their families for awareness, feelings, past experiences, attitudes and willingness to decide advance directives, as well as considerations and intentions of decision-making in advance directives, and the associated factors, and to compare the difference between patients and their families.
Methods: A cross-sectional and descriptive study with purposive sampling was conducted at medical ICUs of a medical center in middle Taiwan. Patients aged ≥ 55 years and admitted at medical ICUs and their families were enrolled. A total of 30 patients and 65 family members were enrolled.
Results: The majority of participants were not aware of advance directives. Less than 5% of patients and family members had ever contacted about the advance directives. About 13% of patients and 50% of families had discussed about advance care planning. Condition change is the best timing to discuss this issue. Both patients and family members recognized the patient himself should be the prioritized decision-maker. As to directions of decision-making, 43.3% of patients and 44.6% of family surrogate agreed to sign DNR. There were different attitudes toward awareness and decision making of advance directives between patients and family members.
Conclusion: The fact that most of the respondents had never heard about advance directives or discussed the concept with others points to a lack of knowledge and to the necessity to step up public education about such issues.
Keywords: Advance directives, awareness, decision making, intensive care
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