Advance care planning in adults ages 80 years and older with impaired cognition: Using actual conversations to examine best practices.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Recommendations for advance care planning (ACP) in persons with cognitive impairment are based on expert input without insight from actual ACP conversations.

Methods

We used thematic analysis to analyze transcripts of ACP conversations for 88 older adults with normal cognition (n = 15), mild cognitive impairment (n = 13), and scores consistent with dementia (n = 60).

Results

Patients with dementia were least verbally active; however, some shared values and identified surrogates. We identified three themes: (1) cognitive impairment inhibits participation in ACP, but individuals with dementia are able to contribute; (2) care partners have a key role in supporting ACP across the spectrum of cognitive impairment; and (3) structured questions about values and

SUBMITTER: Abshire Saylor M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11772722 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature