Keywords
advanced directives
end of life care
primary care physician
end of life care
primary care physician
How to Cite
Carmona-Matos, D. M., Layrisse-Landaeta, V. H., González-Sánchez, K., Reyes-De Jesús, D., De La Cruz, F., Ovando, K., … García-Osorio, M. E. (2022). Evaluating the Levels of Awareness of and Attitudes on Advance Directives Among Primary Care Physicians in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico Health Sciences Journal, 41(3), 135–141. Retrieved from https://prhsj.rcm.upr.edu/index.php/prhsj/article/view/2698
Abstract
Objective: Advance directives (ADs) are legal documents designed to guarantee a patient’s preference of care for the future. Primary care physicians (PCPs) have long been identified as key to promoting AD completion among patients. Furthermore, PCPs’ levels of awareness of and attitudes toward ADs have been related to positive completion rates in patients. In this project, we sought to identify the levels of awareness and attitudes towards ADs in Puerto Rican PCPs. Methods: Self-administered questionnaires were distributed at primary care medical conferences in Puerto Rico (PR) to explore the levels of awareness and attitudes of PCPs on ADs. Results: A total of 332 surveys were collected. Overall, PCPs in PR had high selfrated knowledge of ADs, with the highest being reported among internal medicine physicians (8.63 ± 1.51). However, this self-rating was in stark contrast with the lower than 60% level of awareness of and commitment to reading the applicable laws on ADs in PR across all specialties. Puerto Rican PCPs showed strongly positive attitudes towards ADs and recognized them as useful tools for patients, healthcare workers, and families, enabling them to make healthcare decisions. Internal medicine practitioners showed the strongest positive attitudes of all PCPs. Despite the perceived usefulness of ADs, Puerto Rican PCPs had a low predisposition to complete their own ADs in the short term. Conclusion: Our results suggest that improvements in the education of health professionals with regard to ADs are needed to increase in physicians both their knowledge of the legal standards governing ADs and their commitment to ensuring that patients complete such directives.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
a. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
b. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
c. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).