Preferences of older inpatients and their family caregivers for life-sustaining treatments in South Korea

Hyeyoung Hwang, Sook Ja Yang, Sarah Yeun Sim Jeong

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

This descriptive cross-sectional survey aimed to investigate the preferences of older inpatients and their family caregivers for life-sustaining treatments (LSTs) and their influential factors. Inpatients aged 60 and older and their family caregivers in three acute hospitals in Seoul, South Korea, were invited to participate in the study. A total of 180 surveys were returned from 90 pairs of patients and family caregivers with a response rate of 95%. Older inpatients expressed a significantly high desire for “not wanting to have cardiopulmonary resuscitation” (χ2 = 10.07, p = 0.007) and “mechanical ventilator” (χ2 = 10.35, p = 0.006) compared to their caregivers. Given that experiences of conversations about LSTs was a common factor in both groups and may prevent futile LSTs, it is important for nurses to initiate and support patients and family caregivers, helping them engage in formal and informal conversations about future healthcare preferences.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)428-435
Number of pages8
JournalGeriatric Nursing
Volume39
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jul 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017

Keywords

  • Family caregiver
  • Life-sustaining treatment
  • Older inpatient
  • Preference

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