Li-Shan Ke1, Wen-Yu Hu2, Ching-Yu Chen3, Chieh-Yu Liu4, Tai-Yuan Chiu3. 1. National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, School of Nursing, Taipei, Taiwan; Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Department of Nursing, Taipei, Taiwan; National Taiwan University, College of Medicine, School of Nursing, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: lishan@ntunhs.edu.tw. 2. National Taiwan University, College of Medicine, School of Nursing, Taipei, Taiwan; National Taiwan University Hospital, Department of Nursing, Taipei, Taiwan. 3. National Taiwan University, College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan; National Taiwan University Hospital, Department of Family Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan. 4. National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Department of Speech Language Pathology and Audiology, Taipei, Taiwan.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study sought to develop a decision aid with cartoon pictures and evaluate its effectiveness in increasing consistency between elderly individuals and their surrogates regarding end-of-life care. METHODS: A pre-post quasi-experimental design was adopted using the Life Support Preferences Questionnaire. The intervention had two components: (1) increasing participants' knowledge of medical treatments related to end-of-life care, and (2) sharing their end-of-life wishes. The experimental group received an intervention, whereas the control group received usual care. RESULTS: A total of 110 participants in 55 pairs of elderly individuals with average aged 86.4 and their surrogates (27 in the experimental group, 28 in the control group) were recruited from a veterans hospital in northern Taiwan. Nearly 90 % of elderly individuals were male. The multiple linear regression showed that the inconsistent gap between elderly individuals and their surrogates in the experimental group decreased 12 points than the control group after controlling the covariances (B = -12.116, p = 0.032). CONCLUSION: The intervention improved the consistency between elderly individuals and their surrogates regarding end-of-life care. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: A decision aid with cartoon pictures may support the discussion of end-of-life care in older Asian populations.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: This study sought to develop a decision aid with cartoon pictures and evaluate its effectiveness in increasing consistency between elderly individuals and their surrogates regarding end-of-life care. METHODS: A pre-post quasi-experimental design was adopted using the Life Support Preferences Questionnaire. The intervention had two components: (1) increasing participants' knowledge of medical treatments related to end-of-life care, and (2) sharing their end-of-life wishes. The experimental group received an intervention, whereas the control group received usual care. RESULTS: A total of 110 participants in 55 pairs of elderly individuals with average aged 86.4 and their surrogates (27 in the experimental group, 28 in the control group) were recruited from a veterans hospital in northern Taiwan. Nearly 90 % of elderly individuals were male. The multiple linear regression showed that the inconsistent gap between elderly individuals and their surrogates in the experimental group decreased 12 points than the control group after controlling the covariances (B = -12.116, p = 0.032). CONCLUSION: The intervention improved the consistency between elderly individuals and their surrogates regarding end-of-life care. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: A decision aid with cartoon pictures may support the discussion of end-of-life care in older Asian populations.