TY - JOUR
T1 - Striving for quality or length at the end-of-life: attitudes of the Dutch general public
AU - Rietjens, J.A.C.
AU - van der Heide, A.
AU - Voogt, E.
AU - Philipsen, B.D.
AU - van der Maas, P.J.
AU - van der Wal, G.
PY - 2005
Y1 - 2005
N2 - Questionnaires were mailed to 1777 members of the Dutch public (response: 78%), measuring to what extent respondents appreciate life-prolonging treatment, even if it would seriously impair their quality of life. The association between these attitudes and personal characteristics and initiatives to engage in advance care planning was analyzed. About one third of the respondents prefers quality of life at the expense of survival, another third prefers length of life regardless of impaired quality, whereas the remaining third did not express a clear attitude towards quality or length of life. People who were younger, male, having children, having religious beliefs, and without a history of serious illness were more likely to strive for length, whereas the reverse associations were found for striving for quality. The latter was related to undertaking initiatives to engage in advance care planning. Awareness of differences in attitudes towards life-prolonging treatment within the public may improve communication about appropriate end-of-life care
AB - Questionnaires were mailed to 1777 members of the Dutch public (response: 78%), measuring to what extent respondents appreciate life-prolonging treatment, even if it would seriously impair their quality of life. The association between these attitudes and personal characteristics and initiatives to engage in advance care planning was analyzed. About one third of the respondents prefers quality of life at the expense of survival, another third prefers length of life regardless of impaired quality, whereas the remaining third did not express a clear attitude towards quality or length of life. People who were younger, male, having children, having religious beliefs, and without a history of serious illness were more likely to strive for length, whereas the reverse associations were found for striving for quality. The latter was related to undertaking initiatives to engage in advance care planning. Awareness of differences in attitudes towards life-prolonging treatment within the public may improve communication about appropriate end-of-life care
U2 - 10.1016/j.pec.2004.10.012
DO - 10.1016/j.pec.2004.10.012
M3 - Article
SN - 0738-3991
VL - 59
SP - 158
EP - 163
JO - Patient Education and Counseling
JF - Patient Education and Counseling
IS - 2
ER -