Taiwanese Older Adults Prefer to Use Antibiotics and Intravenous Infusion at the End of Life based on a Cartoon Version of the Life Support Preferences Questionnaire

Li-Shan Ke (), Hui-Chuan Cheng, Chien-Liang Liu, Yu-Chen Ku, Ming-Ju Lee, Yin-Ling Lin and Hsiu-Ying Huang
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Li-Shan Ke: School of Nursing, National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences, Taipei 112, Taiwan
Hui-Chuan Cheng: Department of Nursing, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
Chien-Liang Liu: Department of Neurology, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei 110, Taiwan
Yu-Chen Ku: Department of Nursing, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
Ming-Ju Lee: Department of Nursing, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
Yin-Ling Lin: Department of Nursing, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
Hsiu-Ying Huang: Department of Nursing, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: Asians believe discussing death-related topics is inauspicious and may bring bad luck. It is critical to explore the end-of-life care preferences of the Asian elderly with less-threatening tools. The study examined older adults’ preferences regarding end-of-life treatments by applying a cartoon version of the Life Support Preferences Questionnaire (LSPQ). A cross-sectional survey was conducted to understand older adults’ preferences for end-of-life treatments. A total of 342 older adults participated in the study, comprising 268 elderly patients from a veterans hospital located in northern Taiwan and 74 elderly family members of the patients. Regardless of scenario, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) had the lowest score, indicating that older adults considered it a less desirable medical treatment. By contrast, antibiotics and intravenous infusions had the highest scores, indicating that older adults tended to prefer them. End-of-life care preferences were significantly different in genders. CPR and surgical preferences of older adults differed significantly with education level. Different demographic characteristics had different end-of-life treatment preferences, and future research may develop advance care planning programs for different attributes. This cartoon version of the LSPQ can help healthcare professionals to understand older adults’ preferences for end-of-life care and warrants further empirical research.

Keywords: older adults; life support preferences questionnaire; end-of-life (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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