Intention to sign an advance directive among nephrology medical staff and its related factors

Abstract

Background: Advance care planning enables people to record their future health and care wishes and appoint someone as an advocate. An advance directive can be made in the event that a person is incapacitated, so that their wishes are still upheld. The beliefs of the nephrology team might affect patients' choices and willingness to sign an advance directive. To increase the number of dialysis patients who have signed an advance directive, it is necessary to educate the nephrology medical staff. Aim: To explore the intention to sign an advance directive and its related factors among nephrology medical staff. Methods: A cross-sectional and correlational design was used. This study recruited 160 nephrology medical staff. Data were analysed by using the Statistical Package for Social Science 21.0 for Windows. Findings: The results found that the longer someone has worked as part of the nephology medical staff, the more knowledgeable they were about an advance directive. This led to them being more likely to want to sign an advance directive for themselves. Conclusion: In order to improve the knowledge and awareness of advance directives among nephrology medical staff, hospital managers should provide continuing education on this topic.