Kazumasa Uemura1, Setsu Iijima. 1. Center for Medical Education, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Japan.
Abstract
AIM: To clarify the opinions of members of the Japan Geriatric Society regarding the revised version of their Position Statement on terminal medicine and care in elderly patients. METHODS: A self-report questionnaire was sent to special honorary members, emeritus academic staff, and officers and delegates of the Japan Geriatrics Society (789 people). The questions were: 1) Do you agree with the Position Statement as revised by the Ethics Committee of the Japan Geriatric Society or not? 2) Do you have any ideas about any specific item and its' content or necessary revisions and if so, what are they? 3) Are there any headings or items that should be added to the Q&A section and if so, what are they? RESULTS: The response rate was 28.5% (225/789). Of these, 91.6% agreed with the revised version of the Position Statement. More than 80% of respondents had no suggested revisions. Suggested items that should be added to the Q&A were: advanced directives or advanced care plans, legal interpretation on the withholding of life-support treatments including hemodialysis, the establishment of a guardian system, and legal interpretation of the decisions made by the Ethics Committee. CONCLUSION: Although most respondents agreed with the revised version of the Position Statement, some issues remain to be discussed, including the relationship of patient autonomy with the optimal benefits for those in terminal-stage disease, the decision-making systems regarding the introduction and withholding of life-support treatments such as artificial nutrition, artificial ventilation, and hemodialysis.
AIM: To clarify the opinions of members of the Japan Geriatric Society regarding the revised version of their Position Statement on terminal medicine and care in elderly patients. METHODS: A self-report questionnaire was sent to special honorary members, emeritus academic staff, and officers and delegates of the Japan Geriatrics Society (789 people). The questions were: 1) Do you agree with the Position Statement as revised by the Ethics Committee of the Japan Geriatric Society or not? 2) Do you have any ideas about any specific item and its' content or necessary revisions and if so, what are they? 3) Are there any headings or items that should be added to the Q&A section and if so, what are they? RESULTS: The response rate was 28.5% (225/789). Of these, 91.6% agreed with the revised version of the Position Statement. More than 80% of respondents had no suggested revisions. Suggested items that should be added to the Q&A were: advanced directives or advanced care plans, legal interpretation on the withholding of life-support treatments including hemodialysis, the establishment of a guardian system, and legal interpretation of the decisions made by the Ethics Committee. CONCLUSION: Although most respondents agreed with the revised version of the Position Statement, some issues remain to be discussed, including the relationship of patient autonomy with the optimal benefits for those in terminal-stage disease, the decision-making systems regarding the introduction and withholding of life-support treatments such as artificial nutrition, artificial ventilation, and hemodialysis.