Decision Making for Patients With Severe Dementia Versus Normal Cognition Near the End of Life.

ABSTRACT:

Background and objectives

The clinical progression of severe dementia frequently leads to situations where surrogate decision makers must quickly make choices about potentially burdensome treatments that offer limited clinical benefit. We examined whether the number of decision makers and their access to advance directives were related to treatment choice for patients with severe dementia in comparison to those with normal cognition.

Research design and methods

We retrospectively linked survey responses about end-of-life treatment decisions to Medicare claims for Health and Retirement Study respondents dying between 2002 and 2015 whose next-of-kin reported a need for surrogate decision making. We estimated multivariable logistic regression models to study measures of aggress

SUBMITTER: Nicholas LH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10533208 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature