Adult and adolescent attitudes toward death.

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Patient Autonomy
• Health Care Decision-Making

Background:

• Families face distress when making health care decisions for incompetent individuals.
• The need for clear prior directives to guide end-of-life care is critical.
• Existing methods for documenting patient wishes are insufficient.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the Value History Questionnaire as a tool for recording competent patients' end-of-life care preferences.
• To assess the feasibility and patient response to the Value History Questionnaire.
• To compare the responses of different age groups regarding future health care directives.

Main Methods:

• A Value History Questionnaire was administered to 170 teenagers and 170 adults.
• Participants were informed about the purpose of documenting their future health care wishes.
• Responses concerning truth-telling, decision-making participation, and life support preferences were analyzed.

Main Results:

• Respondents strongly desire to be informed about their health status and involved in decision-making, even during terminal illness.
• A significant majority expressed a wish to avoid indefinite maintenance on life-support systems.
• Both teenagers and adults showed enthusiasm for the Value History concept.

Conclusions:

• The Value History Questionnaire is a viable method for capturing patient preferences for future medical care.
• Patient-centered advance care planning is supported by strong patient desire for autonomy and truth.
• Integrating Value Histories into medical records is recommended to improve end-of-life care guidance.