Advance care planning readiness among older adults in aged service centers: A cross-sectional study.
Kalok Wong, Haobin Yuan, Stephen Tee and 1 others
PMID 39990983WHAT IT FOUND
Most older adults in Macau's day centers were willing to engage in advance care planning, despite low awareness.
Higher family function, prior ACP experience, and knowing someone who had resuscitation were linked to greater readiness.
Key findings
0159.5% of participants expressed willingness to engage in advance care planning, while 16.7% were unwilling and 23.9% unsure.
02Family function was positively correlated with advance care planning readiness.
03Prior knowledge of ACP, previous ACP experience, and personal or family experience with resuscitation were significant predictors of higher readiness.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Convenience sampling was used, which limits the generalizability of the findings to the broader population of older adults. The study excluded older adults with serious memory impairment, cognitive disorders, or those unable to communicate, so findings do not apply to those with advanced dementia or severe cognitive decline. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality between family function and ACP readiness. Many participants were unfamiliar with the term ACP until explained by investigators, which may have influenced their responses or introduced bias.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that high willingness to engage in ACP equates to having completed an advance directive. The study measured readiness and willingness, not the actual documentation or implementation of care plans. Additionally, the exclusion of cognitively impaired individuals means these results should not be generalized to patients with dementia.