1. 'Can a relative override a patient's Advance Care Directive?': end-of-life legal worries of general practitioners and nurses working in aged care.
- Author
-
White, Ben, Feeney, Rachel, Sellars, Marcus, Neller, Penny, Yates, Patsy, and Willmott, Lindy
- Subjects
- *
ADVANCE directives (Medical care) -- Law & legislation , *PALLIATIVE treatment laws , *NURSES' attitudes , *PROFESSIONS , *CROSS-sectional method , *HOME care services , *ASSISTED suicide , *PHYSICIANS' attitudes , *FEAR , *RESIDENTIAL care , *WORRY , *DATA analysis software , *DECISION making in clinical medicine , *ELDER care - Abstract
Background: This paper aimed to describe the legal worries of Australian general practitioners (GPs) and nurses regarding end-of-life care provided in the aged care setting. Methods: An analysis of responses to the final, open-ended question of a cross-sectional online survey of GPs and nurses practising in aged care settings in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria was undertaken. Results: Of the 162 GPs and 61 nurses who gave valid responses to the survey, 92% (151 GPs and 55 nurses) responded to the open-ended question. Participants identified concerns across all relevant areas of end-of-life law. The most common concerns were substitute decision-makers or family member(s) wanting to overrule an Advance Care Directive, requests for futile or non-beneficial treatment and conflict about end-of-life decision-making. Participants often also identified concerns about their lack of legal knowledge and their fear of law or risk related to both end-of-life care generally and providing medication that may hasten death. Conclusions: Australian GPs and nurses working in aged care have broad-ranging legal concerns about providing end-of-life care. Legal concerns and knowledge gaps identified here highlight priority areas for future training of the aged care workforce. The law supports good end-of-life clinical practice by facilitating health care that aligns with the values and goals of patients, including those residing in residential aged care facilities. GPs and nurses here reported broad-ranging legal concerns relevant to providing end-of-life care within aged care, including substitute decision makers/family members wanting to overrule Advance Care Directives, requests for futile or non-beneficial treatment and conflict about decision-making. Participants' concerns can inform end-of-life legal training for aged care GPs and nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
- Full Text
- View/download PDF