Background. While rates of advance care documentation amongst the general public remain low, there is increasing recognition of the value of informal planning to address patient preferences in serious illness. Objectives. To determine the associations between personal attributes and formal and informal planning for serious illness across age groups. Methods. This population-based, online survey...

BACKGROUND It seems necessary to study the health status of this age group to promote their health and prevent disease as well as care planning. In order to achieve this goal, a clear definition of the concept of elderly health is essential. METHOD Hybrid concept analysis, our research design, utilizes both theoretical analysis of literature and empirical observation to define a concept. We c...

Although the practice of withholding and withdrawing artificial nutrition and hydration (ANH) has become more common, it remains controversial, particularly in the paediatric setting. Decisions regarding ANH, along with other medical interventions, should be considered in the individual context of the child's overall plan of care. The purpose of the present practice point is to provide guidance...

Recent months have witnessed a lot of Catholic writing about POLST, with some bishops and theologians critical of the POLST program2 and others cautiously supportive.3 This controversy has been helpful in raising some important issues regarding the conceptualization and implementation of the POLST paradigm in various states. The controversy might also be an occasion for Catholic health care eth...