Communicating life views and end of life preferences

The promotion of advance directives has received increasing attention but just documenting treatment decisions does nothing to convey the patient's underlying values or stimulate relevant discussion. Discussion is often delayed until a health crisis occurs, by which time people may be too sick to interpret their treatment options. Previous studies have shown that older people seldom have the chance to share views about death and dying because family members and healthcare professionals want to protect them from raising these sensitive issues.