Author(s)

Madoka Nakamura

Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, Sapporo Medical University, Sapporo, Japan.

Introduction: In the context of end-of-life care, interest in advance care planning (ACP) has increased as an approach that allows a person to live in the manner of his or her choosing until the end. ACP is a process of discussion among the elderly persons, family members, and medical staff. However, preparations necessary for starting ACP are not clear. In this study, we aim to clarify the readiness of ACP focusing on the elderly who are the center of end-of-life care. Methods: We reviewed the literature on the subject in the CINAHL and PubMed databases. The keywords used were “advance care planning” and “readiness”. Results: Twelve articles were selected for the final analysis. ACP readiness was broadly divided into preparations on the part of the elderly themselves, family members, and medical professionals. Conclusion: The most frequently reported factor in readiness for ACP was elderly people informing their families and physicians of their intentions. In addition, the establishment of communicative relationships among elderly persons, their family members, and medical professionals was considered readiness for commencing ACP. It was suggested that enhancing these types of readiness would help reduce the barriers to ACP, thereby facilitating its practice.

Advance Care Planning, End-of-Life Care, Readiness, Elderly

Nakamura, M. (2019) Readiness for Advance Care Planning in Older Adults: A Literature Review. Open Journal of Nursing, 9, 14-23. doi: 10.4236/ojn.2019.91002.