Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by MOE, C.
Right arrow Articles by SCHROLL, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by MOE, C.
Right arrow Articles by SCHROLL, M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 1997 Oxford University Press

research-article

What degree of medical treatment do nursing home residents want in case of life-threatening disease?

CLAUS MOE and MARIANNE SCHROLL

Geriatric Department HL, The Copenhagen Municipal Hospital Øster Farimagsgade 5, DK-1399 Copenhagen K, Denmark

Address correspondence to: C Moe. Fax (+45) 33 95 0195

AIM:: to examine the degree of medical treatment wanted by nursing home residents, their relatives and staff members should the resident develop a serious and life-threatening disease and to analyse the degree of agreement between the wishes of these parties.

DESIGN:: an epidemiological, descriptive cross-sectional study.

MATERIAL AND METHODS:: the study population consisted of 101 competent and 106 incompetent residents from 16 nursing homes; 142 relatives and 207 staff members were also interviewed. A hypothetical disease story was presented to residents, relatives and staff members and their choices classified into four groups according to degree of treatment.

RESULTS:: direct comparisons for the individual resident showed the greatest degree of disagreement whether to accept or refuse referral to hospital between relatives of incompetent residents and staff members, in that the preference for curative treatment was significantly more frequent among the relatives.

CONCLUSIONS:: nursing home staff should try to discuss with relatives of incompetent residents their preferences for treatment in case the resident develops a serious disease before an acute situation arises.

Keywords: degree of treatment, elderly residents, life-threatening illness, nursing home, patients' wishes

Received September 25, 1996;
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.