Advance care planning and unlimited treatment preferences in dementia scenarios: Insights from community-dwelling adults

Advance care planning and unlimited treatment preferences in dementia scenarios: Insights from community-dwelling adults
American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care; by Yuchi Young, Yichun Liu, Yufang Tu, Wan-Yu Chiu, Ashley Shayya, Thomas O'Grady; 4/25
Dementia leads to progressive cognitive decline, impairing self-care and decision making. Advance directives (AdvDirs) enable individuals to document healthcare preferences while cognitively capable, ensuring value-aligned care and reducing caregiver burden. In the dementia scenario, 26.9% of participants preferred unlimited medical treatment. This preference was strongly associated with a pre-existing attitude favoring life-sustaining treatments ... and religious beliefs ... Conversely, an interest in learning about quality of life at the end of life was negatively associated with preferring unlimited treatment ... Our findings highlight the need to align advance care planning with individuals' values, beliefs, and religious practices.