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BMC Palliative Care
Published in: BMC Palliative Care 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research article

The prevalence in the general population of advance directives on euthanasia and discussion of end-of-life wishes: a nationwide survey

Authors: Aline De Vleminck, Koen Pardon, Dirk Houttekier, Lieve Van den Block, Robert Vander Stichele, Luc Deliens

Published in: BMC Palliative Care | Issue 1/2015

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Abstract

Background

To determine the extent to which members of the general population have talked to their physician about their wishes regarding medical treatment at the end of life, to describe the prevalence of advance directives on euthanasia, and to identify associated factors.

Method

This study used data from the cross-sectional Health Interview Study (HIS) 2008 that collected data from a representative sample (N = 9651) of the Belgian population.

Results

Of all respondents, 4.4 % had spoken to their physician about their wishes regarding medical treatment at the end of life, while 1.8 % had an advance directive on euthanasia. Factors positively associated with discussions regarding wishes for medical treatment at the end of life were being female, being older in age, having poorer health status and having more GP contacts. People older than 55 years and living in Flanders or Brussels were more likely than the youngest age categories to have an advance directive on euthanasia.

Conclusion

Younger people, men, people living in the Walloon region of Belgium, people without a longstanding illness, chronic condition or disability and people with few GP contacts could represent a target group for education regarding advance care planning. Public information campaigns and education of physicians may help to enable the public and physicians to engage more in advance care planning.
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Metadata
Title
The prevalence in the general population of advance directives on euthanasia and discussion of end-of-life wishes: a nationwide survey
Authors
Aline De Vleminck
Koen Pardon
Dirk Houttekier
Lieve Van den Block
Robert Vander Stichele
Luc Deliens
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Palliative Care / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 1472-684X
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-015-0068-1

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