PERCEiVe
Program to Elicit and Respect Care Expectations and Values
Funded by: Hartford/Jahnigen Center of Excellence Faculty Development Award
Project Period: 7/02 - 9/03
Advance directives (ADs) provide a way to specify preferences regarding health
care in advance of an illness that renders one unable to communicate such
preferences. Advance directives include specifications such as do not resuscitate,
do not hospitalize, do not use tube feeding and also include living wills.
Although it is generally believed that ADs are an important component to providing
care that is consistent with patient preferences for care, ADs are often not
documented and not known to health care providers. Because one in ten skilled
nursing facility (SNF) patients will die within the first 30 days of SNF
admission, establishing preferences for care at the end of life is particularly
important for this group of patients. The project is designed to create a
comprehensive AD program in nursing homes. The program initially involves
qualitative data collection using focus groups composed of nursing home care
providers. Information from the focus groups will be incorporated into the
program design.
Key Staff: Levy, Kramer, Fish
Journal Articles:
Levy CR, Eilertsen T, Fish R, Kramer A. "Hospital vs. Nursing Home: A comparison of nursing home residents who die in the hospital rather than the nursing home." JAGS April 2002.
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