Relationships between various attitudes towards self-determination in health care with special reference to an advance directive.

OBJECTIVES: The subject of patient self-determination in health care has gained broad interest because of the increasing number of incompetent patients. In an attempt to solve the problems related to doctors' decision making in such circumstances, advance directives have been developed. The pur...

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Published in:Journal of Medical Ethics
Main Authors: Eisemann, M, Richter, J
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: British Medical Journal Publishing Group 1999
Subjects:
Online Access:http://jme.bmj.com/cgi/content/short/25/1/37
https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.25.1.37
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spelling fthighwire:oai:open-archive.highwire.org:medethics:25/1/37 2023-05-15T17:44:47+02:00 Relationships between various attitudes towards self-determination in health care with special reference to an advance directive. Eisemann, M Richter, J 1999-02-01 00:00:00.0 text/html http://jme.bmj.com/cgi/content/short/25/1/37 https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.25.1.37 en eng British Medical Journal Publishing Group http://jme.bmj.com/cgi/content/short/25/1/37 http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jme.25.1.37 Copyright (C) 1999, Institute of Medical Ethics Research Article TEXT 1999 fthighwire https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.25.1.37 2012-06-19T00:29:07Z OBJECTIVES: The subject of patient self-determination in health care has gained broad interest because of the increasing number of incompetent patients. In an attempt to solve the problems related to doctors' decision making in such circumstances, advance directives have been developed. The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between public attitudes towards patient autonomy and advance directives. SUBJECTS AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A stratified random sample of 600 adults in northern Sweden was surveyed by a questionnaire with a response rate of 78.2%. The subjects were asked about their wish for control of their health care, their concerns about health care, their treatment preferences in a life-threatening situation (both reversible and irreversible), and their attitudes towards the application of advance directives. RESULTS: Numerous relationships between various aspects of self-determination in health care (desire for control, fears of over-treatment, and choice of treatment level) in general and advance directives, in particular, were found. Those who wanted to have a say in their health care (about 94%) also mainly supported the use of an advance directive. CONCLUSIONS: The fact that almost 30% of the respondents were undecided concerning their personal use of advance directives points to a lack of knowledge and to the necessity of education of the public on these issues. Text Northern Sweden HighWire Press (Stanford University) Journal of Medical Ethics 25 1 37 41
institution Open Polar
collection HighWire Press (Stanford University)
op_collection_id fthighwire
language English
topic Research Article
spellingShingle Research Article
Eisemann, M
Richter, J
Relationships between various attitudes towards self-determination in health care with special reference to an advance directive.
topic_facet Research Article
description OBJECTIVES: The subject of patient self-determination in health care has gained broad interest because of the increasing number of incompetent patients. In an attempt to solve the problems related to doctors' decision making in such circumstances, advance directives have been developed. The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between public attitudes towards patient autonomy and advance directives. SUBJECTS AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: A stratified random sample of 600 adults in northern Sweden was surveyed by a questionnaire with a response rate of 78.2%. The subjects were asked about their wish for control of their health care, their concerns about health care, their treatment preferences in a life-threatening situation (both reversible and irreversible), and their attitudes towards the application of advance directives. RESULTS: Numerous relationships between various aspects of self-determination in health care (desire for control, fears of over-treatment, and choice of treatment level) in general and advance directives, in particular, were found. Those who wanted to have a say in their health care (about 94%) also mainly supported the use of an advance directive. CONCLUSIONS: The fact that almost 30% of the respondents were undecided concerning their personal use of advance directives points to a lack of knowledge and to the necessity of education of the public on these issues.
format Text
author Eisemann, M
Richter, J
author_facet Eisemann, M
Richter, J
author_sort Eisemann, M
title Relationships between various attitudes towards self-determination in health care with special reference to an advance directive.
title_short Relationships between various attitudes towards self-determination in health care with special reference to an advance directive.
title_full Relationships between various attitudes towards self-determination in health care with special reference to an advance directive.
title_fullStr Relationships between various attitudes towards self-determination in health care with special reference to an advance directive.
title_full_unstemmed Relationships between various attitudes towards self-determination in health care with special reference to an advance directive.
title_sort relationships between various attitudes towards self-determination in health care with special reference to an advance directive.
publisher British Medical Journal Publishing Group
publishDate 1999
url http://jme.bmj.com/cgi/content/short/25/1/37
https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.25.1.37
genre Northern Sweden
genre_facet Northern Sweden
op_relation http://jme.bmj.com/cgi/content/short/25/1/37
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jme.25.1.37
op_rights Copyright (C) 1999, Institute of Medical Ethics
op_doi https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.25.1.37
container_title Journal of Medical Ethics
container_volume 25
container_issue 1
container_start_page 37
op_container_end_page 41
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