Quality of Life Factors in Geriatric Medicine Decisions. Final Report

摘要

The study's purpose was to explore the perceptions of elderly patients, their spouses and their physicians regarding patient quality of life (QL) and its role in resuscitation decisions. Another objective was to assess physician and spouse ability to provide substituted judgments for resuscitation on the event patients were unable to communicate their preferences. Participants completed questionnaires which included evaluations of patient health and QL, and resuscitation preferences from cardiac arrest. Patients and their spouses considered patient QL to be relatively good. Physicians consistently rated patient QL worse than their patients. The patients' major independent predictors of QL were health, memory, housing, finances, whereas spouses and physicians focused more on health. Spouses and physicians focused more on health. Spouses generally were more inclined to resuscitate patients. QL was not a major predictor of resuscitation decisions for patients and spouses. Physicians generally were more inclined to withhold resuscitation preferences.