[Advance directives. Representatives' opinions]

The use and usefulness of Advance Directives has led to a lot of controversy about their validity and effectiveness. Those areas are unexplored in our country from the perspective of representatives.

To determine the opinion of the representatives appointed in a registered Statement of Advance Directives (SAD) on the use of this document.

Telephone survey of representatives of 146 already dead people and who, since February 2012, had registered a SAD document.

More the two-thirds (98) of respondents recalled that the SAD was consulted, with 86 (58.9%) saying that their opinion as representative was consulted, and 120 (82.1%) believe that the patient's will was respected. Of those interviewed, 102 (69.9%) believe that patients who had previously planned their care using a SAD had a good death, with 33 (22.4%) saying it could have been better, and 10 (6.9%) believe they suffered greatly.

The SAD were mostly respected and consulted, and possibly this is related to the fact that most of the representatives declare that the death of those they represented was perceived as comfortable. It would be desirable to conduct further studies addressed at health personnel in order to know their perceptions regarding the use of Advance Directives in the process of dying.